try to make the best of things

Poems from Saint Pelagia Prison                                       








       by




Phillippe Soupault                                                               












I.


Wednesday on a barge
and you Saturday like a flag
the days have crowns
like kings and dead men
lissome as a kiss my hand
rests on chained foreheads
A child cries for her doll
and we'll have to start over again
Monday and Tuesday cold-blooded
four Thursdays off from work




 
II.


a thread unravels
a shadow falls
a butterfly exploded
chrysalis or glow worm




 
III


Who mounts
the storm
a balloon
honey or silver moon
Four by four
Let's look for the children
the parents of children
the children of children
the bells of springtime
the beginnings of summer
the regrets of autumn
the silence of winter
an elephant in his bathtub
and the three sleeping children
singular singular tale
tale of the setting sun


                         translation by Paulette Schmidt     
























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