More fun with “love” poetry. English followed by une version en français y una versión en español.

The English title “Common sense” comes from my sense that—even before Trump in his inaugural speech said he was going to promote a “revolution of common sense”—the phrase was, for the American commercial class, a code phrase. For such people, more or less as for Trump as well, it may be translated: I want to pay less taxes and lower wages and not have my money-making impinged upon by any need to protect the environment or human health. Traduire cette formule américain en français o al español. . . ? Quizás imposible.

Somewhat after the present poem(s) were first published, Bloomberg published an interesting and helpful article which used the example of guitar-pedal manufacturers to explore how small US businesses are struggling to cope with the Trump administration’s volatile trade policies and tariffs. From my artistic-or-intelligentsia-class perspective, there’s a lack of something rather larger than common sense in both the new policies and the old ones. The article ​touches, inter alia,​ on how these US small business owners’ ​current problem is rooted in their (and their customers’) long-standing dependence on the high level of worker exploitation and the insufficiency of environmental ​safeguards in China. It has been remarked more generally that the jobs Trump has been talking about bringing back are the kinds of jobs no one in US wants, meaning jobs so degrading or low-paid or dangerous that only people in other​, poorer countries would do them (or wish to live near where they are being done).

And, on a much lighter note, I note that in the midst of all the current political excitement and discussion, there is one thing no one is talking about: toilets for dogs. (Et je doute que je sois le seul à voter pour.)

English

Common sense

She couldn’t get over that he was

A socialist

And he – although he could afford one – he had no car

Never took a taxi

There were so many things

He didn’t understand

The need to cut taxes and the ever-rising cost of labor

The need to eliminate all the environmental regulations that did more harm than good

What did he really believe in?

He’d never watched a podcast!

Before he took her clothes off

She made him turn off the lights.

A little note

In an earlier English draft the penultimate stanza read:

What did he really believe in?

He didn’t go to church

(Could he be Jewish?)

Rightly or wrongly, I could imagine this set of phrases passing through the mind of a certain type of American woman, but not a French woman. And so I was pleased when the podcast idea came to me.

Français

Avant qu’il ne la déshabille

Elle n’en revenait pas qu’il était

Socialiste

Il avait les moyens d’en acheter une, mais il était sans voiture

Ne prenait jamais de taxi

Il y avait tant de choses que lui

Il ne comprenait pas

Qu’il fallait réduire des impôts et les charges patronales

Éliminer toutes les réglementations environnementales qui faisaient plus de mal que de bien

En quoi croyait-il vraiment ?

Il n’avait jamais regardé un podcast !

Avant qu’il ne la déshabille

Elle l’a obligé à éteindre la lumière.

Español

Antes de que él la desnudara

Ella no podía superar que era

socialista

Aunque podía permitirse uno, no tenía coche

Nunca cogía taxis

Había tantas cosas que él

No entendía

Que había que reducir los impuestos y el coste laboral

Eliminar todas las normativas medioambientales que hacían más mal que bien

¿En qué creía él realmente?

¡Nunca había visto un podcast!

Antes de que él la desnudara

Ella le hizo apagar las luces.

— Poem(s) and photograph by William Eaton.

Check out Eaton’s 2024 collection of poetry and prose: 4 billion eggs. One might see as well, as regards common sense, the poem Afterwards.