Poem

“Orphan Lines I”

Translation: Raphael Cohen

Written 2012

The sun in the eyes of a child is a lemon.
Perhaps it is so really.

*

He that is without sin among you
let him raise his finger, for me to break, and understand
the absence of the Messiah.

*

Don’t be too happy, occupier:
what you grow up with
you grow to be.

*
If I were a miller
I’d cover society and myself
with white powder.

*

You took pity on me and forgave every mistake
till you made me feel guilty, since I started
to take pity on you.

*

She said to me:
Everything you’ve written to me is beautiful
More beautiful still, you turn out the light
so I can go to sleep.

*

The most beautiful thing about the beloved is her virtue
it’s also the ugliest
in bed.

*
The finest man in backward societies
will try in vain to attain the level
of the sole of the foot of an ordinary woman.
*

Night is clearer than day
because at night we do as we will
out of sight.

*

Whenever I cry, I’m happy
because I may, despite the sadness within,
bridge the gulf between me
and me, really.

*

Fog above cities resembles their politics:
e.g. London.

*

On my route,
Etzel, KKL and Jabotinsky
are the names of the streets
I tread upon.

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