Simone Atangana Bekono
'what do I see at chest level?'
*
what do I see at chest level?
glass are now the eyes of
everyone who's been touched glass
are now their lungs where life
has gathered itself
like toxic smoke
I see right through them
they waltz the street in tangles
sniff each other like dogs in
an empty park
cough up dust that doesn't exactly
shine but you can't call it murky
and it's not really dust but it looks like dust
what are they looking at?
and where?
fuck, what's there to see?
what's also changed:
I hear fervent and loud
the cry of dogs it doesn't matter
how far away
it is their call beckons and I start to fumble
my stomach wants to go I want to go
my dog wants nothing but me but
I want in the pack want to be licked and let in
blinking with my doubleskin
I run around aimless
that head
was nothing but a fence around a
was nothing but a discovery
nothing but the knot around
something thought up and afflicted
something that without it
I feel myself grow enormous
do the dogs know I'm everything now?
I ask no matter how far it must
come
Publisher: First publication on poetryinternational.com, , 2023
'wat zie ik vanaf borsthoogte?'
'wat zie ik vanaf borsthoogte?'
*
wat zie ik vanaf borsthoogte?
van glas zijn nu de ogen van
iedereen die aan is geraakt van glas
zijn nu hun longen waar het leven zich
in heeft verzameld
als giftige rook
ik kijk dwars door ze heen
warrig walsen ze over straat
ze ruiken aan elkaar als honden in
een leeg park
ze hoesten stof op dat niet per se
glinstert maar dof kun je het niet noemen
wat niet echt stof is maar het ziet eruit als stof
waarom kijken ze zo?
en waarnaar?
wat valt er te zien, verdomme?
wat ook veranderd is:
ik hoor sterk en luid
de huil van honden het maakt niet uit
van hoever het
komt hun roep lokt en ik begin te morrelen
mijn buik wil komen ik wil komen
mijn hond wil niks anders dan ik maar
ik wil tot de roedel wil gelikt en geplaatst worden
knipperend met mijn dubbelvlies
ren ik doelloos rond
dat hoofd
was niks dan een hek om een
was niks dan een uitvinding
niks dan de strik er om
iets bedachts en bezochts
iets waar waarzonder
ik me enorm groot voel worden
weten de honden dat ik nu alles ben?
vraag ik het maakt niet uit van hoe ver het
komt
'what do I see at chest level?'
*
what do I see at chest level?
glass are now the eyes of
everyone who's been touched glass
are now their lungs where life
has gathered itself
like toxic smoke
I see right through them
they waltz the street in tangles
sniff each other like dogs in
an empty park
cough up dust that doesn't exactly
shine but you can't call it murky
and it's not really dust but it looks like dust
what are they looking at?
and where?
fuck, what's there to see?
what's also changed:
I hear fervent and loud
the cry of dogs it doesn't matter
how far away
it is their call beckons and I start to fumble
my stomach wants to go I want to go
my dog wants nothing but me but
I want in the pack want to be licked and let in
blinking with my doubleskin
I run around aimless
that head
was nothing but a fence around a
was nothing but a discovery
nothing but the knot around
something thought up and afflicted
something that without it
I feel myself grow enormous
do the dogs know I'm everything now?
I ask no matter how far it must
come
Publisher: 2023, First publication on poetryinternational.com,
'what do I see at chest level?'
*
what do I see at chest level?
glass are now the eyes of
everyone who's been touched glass
are now their lungs where life
has gathered itself
like toxic smoke
I see right through them
they waltz the street in tangles
sniff each other like dogs in
an empty park
cough up dust that doesn't exactly
shine but you can't call it murky
and it's not really dust but it looks like dust
what are they looking at?
and where?
fuck, what's there to see?
what's also changed:
I hear fervent and loud
the cry of dogs it doesn't matter
how far away
it is their call beckons and I start to fumble
my stomach wants to go I want to go
my dog wants nothing but me but
I want in the pack want to be licked and let in
blinking with my doubleskin
I run around aimless
that head
was nothing but a fence around a
was nothing but a discovery
nothing but the knot around
something thought up and afflicted
something that without it
I feel myself grow enormous
do the dogs know I'm everything now?
I ask no matter how far it must
come
Publisher: 2023, First publication on poetryinternational.com,