Poem
Uroš Zupan
VALIUM
The world is in slow motion, in tune with the morning steps.Sluggishly it adheres to my soles. I am sitting in a room,
the sun’s rays magnifying its space. I slept through
last night in an avalanche of silence. I’d put my skull at
the bedside, my life out of my mind. Dark
hollow figures came knocking at my door.
The love of self thawed like spring
snow. I wouldn’t let them in. I kept my skin on.
Out there New York is growing like a cancer cell.
It writhes like an electric centipede, curving up
its tail as if a frightened scorpion. But I am
tucked up inside myself, safe. No longer fighting
the air somebody had smuggled out of
the haunted house. I am seated in my breath.
Nobody gets killed by the sky. A flower
sprouting in crazed blood kills. A razor blade
kneaded into the daily bread by the hollow
figures kills. God is forever counting out
his rhyme, murmuring in his sleep -- first,
second, first, second ... I sit to his right.
I sit to his left. I sit inside his
head. Nothing can reach me. First,
second, first, second ... Hands are aflutter in
mid-air like false angel\'s wings, yet the body
stays faithful to its shadow. A child has
awoken from a bad dream, walked the distance
to his parents bedroom and got
into their bed. Nothing can reach me.
Hell\'s visitation is put off. The world
shines like gold shrouded in black.
© Translation: 2002, Ana Jelnikar
VALIUM
VALIUM
Upocasnjen je svet, uglašen s koraki jutra.Pocasi se lepi na moje podpalte. Sedim v sobi.
Soncni zarki širijo prostor. Noc sem prespal
v plazu tišine. Svojo lobanjo sem polozil od
posteljo, svoje zivljenje pozabil. Temne,
votle postave so trkale na moja vrata.
Ljubezen do sebe je kopnela kot spomladanski
sneg. Nisem jim odprl. Nisem slekel koze.
Zunaj New York raste kot rakava celica.
Gomazi kot elektricna stonoga. Dviguje
rep kot prestrašen škorpjon. A jaz
sem znotraj sebe, varen. Ne bojujem se
vec z zrakom , ki ga je nekdo pretihotapil
iz hiše, v kateri straši. Sedim v svojem dihu.
Nikogar ne ubije nebo. Ubija roza,
ki zraste v podivjani krvi. Ubija britvica,
ki jo temne, votle postave zamesijo
v vsakdanji kruh. Bog se nenehno igra
izštevanko in v spanju mrmra - prvi,
drugi, prvi, drugi ... Sedim na njegovi desni.
Sedim na njegovi levi. Sedim v njegovi
glavi. Nic me ne more doseci. Prvi,
drugi, prvi, drugi ... Roke plahutajo v
zraku kot krila laznega angela, vendar
telo ostaja zvesto svoji senci. Otrok se je
prebudil od nocne more. Prehodil razdaljo
do spalnice staršev in zlezel v njuno
posteljo. Nic me ne more doseci.
Obisk pekla je prelozen. Svet
sije kot zlato, odeto v crnino.
© 1999, Uros Zupan
From: Drevo in vrabec
Publisher: Lud Literatura, Ljubljana
From: Drevo in vrabec
Publisher: Lud Literatura, Ljubljana
Poems
Poems of Uroš Zupan
Close
VALIUM
The world is in slow motion, in tune with the morning steps.Sluggishly it adheres to my soles. I am sitting in a room,
the sun’s rays magnifying its space. I slept through
last night in an avalanche of silence. I’d put my skull at
the bedside, my life out of my mind. Dark
hollow figures came knocking at my door.
The love of self thawed like spring
snow. I wouldn’t let them in. I kept my skin on.
Out there New York is growing like a cancer cell.
It writhes like an electric centipede, curving up
its tail as if a frightened scorpion. But I am
tucked up inside myself, safe. No longer fighting
the air somebody had smuggled out of
the haunted house. I am seated in my breath.
Nobody gets killed by the sky. A flower
sprouting in crazed blood kills. A razor blade
kneaded into the daily bread by the hollow
figures kills. God is forever counting out
his rhyme, murmuring in his sleep -- first,
second, first, second ... I sit to his right.
I sit to his left. I sit inside his
head. Nothing can reach me. First,
second, first, second ... Hands are aflutter in
mid-air like false angel\'s wings, yet the body
stays faithful to its shadow. A child has
awoken from a bad dream, walked the distance
to his parents bedroom and got
into their bed. Nothing can reach me.
Hell\'s visitation is put off. The world
shines like gold shrouded in black.
© 2002, Ana Jelnikar
From: Drevo in vrabec
From: Drevo in vrabec
VALIUM
The world is in slow motion, in tune with the morning steps.Sluggishly it adheres to my soles. I am sitting in a room,
the sun’s rays magnifying its space. I slept through
last night in an avalanche of silence. I’d put my skull at
the bedside, my life out of my mind. Dark
hollow figures came knocking at my door.
The love of self thawed like spring
snow. I wouldn’t let them in. I kept my skin on.
Out there New York is growing like a cancer cell.
It writhes like an electric centipede, curving up
its tail as if a frightened scorpion. But I am
tucked up inside myself, safe. No longer fighting
the air somebody had smuggled out of
the haunted house. I am seated in my breath.
Nobody gets killed by the sky. A flower
sprouting in crazed blood kills. A razor blade
kneaded into the daily bread by the hollow
figures kills. God is forever counting out
his rhyme, murmuring in his sleep -- first,
second, first, second ... I sit to his right.
I sit to his left. I sit inside his
head. Nothing can reach me. First,
second, first, second ... Hands are aflutter in
mid-air like false angel\'s wings, yet the body
stays faithful to its shadow. A child has
awoken from a bad dream, walked the distance
to his parents bedroom and got
into their bed. Nothing can reach me.
Hell\'s visitation is put off. The world
shines like gold shrouded in black.
© 2002, Ana Jelnikar
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