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Gedicht

Yusef Komunyakaa

Sloth

Sloth

Sloth

If you’re one of seven
Downfalls, up in your kingdom
Of mulberry leaves, there are men
Betting you aren’t worth a bullet,


That your skin won’t tan into a good
Wallet. As if drugged in the womb
& limboed in a honeyed languor,
By the time you open your eyes


A thousand species have lived
& died. Born on a Sunday
Morning, with old-world algae
In your long hair, a goodness


Disguised your two-toed claws
Bright as flensing knives. In this
Upside-down haven, you’re reincarnated
As a fallen angel trying to go home.
Yusef Komunyakaa

Yusef Komunyakaa

(Verenigde Staten, 1947)

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Sloth

If you’re one of seven
Downfalls, up in your kingdom
Of mulberry leaves, there are men
Betting you aren’t worth a bullet,


That your skin won’t tan into a good
Wallet. As if drugged in the womb
& limboed in a honeyed languor,
By the time you open your eyes


A thousand species have lived
& died. Born on a Sunday
Morning, with old-world algae
In your long hair, a goodness


Disguised your two-toed claws
Bright as flensing knives. In this
Upside-down haven, you’re reincarnated
As a fallen angel trying to go home.

Sloth

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Nederlands Letterenfonds
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Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
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Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
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