Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Cristóbal Joannon

Obituary

You said: I don’t deserve this. We had to reply:
no one deserves anything; if the little lord wants to shoot himself
he must either do it now or forever hold his peace. Your grey platitudes
get on our nerves, the complaints of a spoiled publicist.

Consider, at least, we saved ourselves some issues:
they all failed to depress us; the eunuchs of Navarra,
the golden pair with their notes full of tempestuous rancour,
the Neo-Scholastic apologists that justified barbarism.

Your brain still works; you could find a mare
and observe the result: the tenderness of a new being
will open its eyes to show you the curvature of the world,
satellite images of clouds circling a polar light.

Orchestrating a curious incident may take too long,
it would be more effective to precariously perch on a balcony after ten.
Leave some cheques to hasten the funeral arrangements;
do it diligently, without the urgency of those who can’t go on.

Nota necrológica

Nota necrológica

Dijiste: no merezco esto. Tuvimos que responderte:
nadie merece nada; si el señorito quiere pegarse un tiro
que lo haga ahora o bien se calle. Crispan el ánimo
tus sombrías obviedades, reclamos de publicista regalón.

Considera al menos que nos ahorramos algunos issues:
no consiguieron deprimirnos los burros de Navarra,
el golden pair y sus ladrillos de inquina tempestuosa,
los chantajes neotomistas que justificaron la barbarie.

Tu cerebro aún trabaja; podrías conseguirte una yegua
y observar el resultado: la ternura misma de un nuevo ser
abrirá sus ojos para enseñarte la curvatura del mundo,
vistas satelitales de nubes girando hacia una luz polar.

Protagonizar un confuso incidente quizás tome su tiempo,
lo más efectivo sería sentarse mal en un balcón a eso de las seis.
Déjanos algunos cheques para agilizar las gestiones fúnebres
y hazlo bien, sin la urgencia de los que ya no aguantan más.
Close

Obituary

You said: I don’t deserve this. We had to reply:
no one deserves anything; if the little lord wants to shoot himself
he must either do it now or forever hold his peace. Your grey platitudes
get on our nerves, the complaints of a spoiled publicist.

Consider, at least, we saved ourselves some issues:
they all failed to depress us; the eunuchs of Navarra,
the golden pair with their notes full of tempestuous rancour,
the Neo-Scholastic apologists that justified barbarism.

Your brain still works; you could find a mare
and observe the result: the tenderness of a new being
will open its eyes to show you the curvature of the world,
satellite images of clouds circling a polar light.

Orchestrating a curious incident may take too long,
it would be more effective to precariously perch on a balcony after ten.
Leave some cheques to hasten the funeral arrangements;
do it diligently, without the urgency of those who can’t go on.

Obituary

You said: I don’t deserve this. We had to reply:
no one deserves anything; if the little lord wants to shoot himself
he must either do it now or forever hold his peace. Your grey platitudes
get on our nerves, the complaints of a spoiled publicist.

Consider, at least, we saved ourselves some issues:
they all failed to depress us; the eunuchs of Navarra,
the golden pair with their notes full of tempestuous rancour,
the Neo-Scholastic apologists that justified barbarism.

Your brain still works; you could find a mare
and observe the result: the tenderness of a new being
will open its eyes to show you the curvature of the world,
satellite images of clouds circling a polar light.

Orchestrating a curious incident may take too long,
it would be more effective to precariously perch on a balcony after ten.
Leave some cheques to hasten the funeral arrangements;
do it diligently, without the urgency of those who can’t go on.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère