Short poems for October
Three in English followed by versiones, a veces prosaicas, françaises y españolas.
As ever, these are not literal translations, but versions, which—though they whisper to one another during the editing process—may end up going their separate ways. In the present case, work on two of the French versions led to my making the English equally political. However, I still like the somewhat greater innocence of the originals, and so, at the very end of this post, have included the earlier versions.
I also like “el ala que vibraba de amor” en las versiones las versiones en español et en francais of the fly poem, but . . .
I found in my Paris walking
I found in my Paris walking
A brand-new toilet seat.
Rare it is – despairing days –
With much of use to meet.
Oh there are breasts et des jolies fesses . . .
Too common to excite?
Whereas a throne, free for the asking,
And with no big fool in sight?
♣
et des jolies fesses = and lovely buttocks
Thanks, perhaps, are not enough
It’s truly unfortunate, my dear fish,
You end up dead in my mouth.
Not that I’m suggesting the roles be reversed,
That the fate of the weak should become…
And you, the berries that we must pick,
The grapes we tread in the fall,
The tubers that greet the blade of the hoe,
To be fried or mashed as we wish.
The fly once swatted
The fly, once swatted, in the toilet bowl,
All its worrying done.
It lived in fear, it lived in flight,
But now, the moment come,
No thought of sugar, no thought of yeast;
Wings water fading . . . and the sun.
Français
C’est rare de tomber sur des choses utiles (cette année si difficile !)
Au cours d’une balade à Paris,… un siège de toilette flambant neuf !
C’est rare, en ces jours si difficiles, de tomber sur des choses utiles.
Oh, oui, les seins, les fesses jolies, mais on les trouve partout,
Tandis qu’un trône dispo et propre,… Et sans le moindre fou !
Un simple « merci » ne peut pas suffire ?
C’est bien regrettable, mon cher poisson,
D’arriver mort dans ma bouche.
Pas que je propose que les rôles s’inversent,
Que le sort des faibles devienne…
Et vous, les baies qu’il faut qu’on cueille,
Les raisins qu’on foule en automne,
Les tubercules qui accueillent la lame de la houe,
Et sans le moindre frisson.
La drosophile
La drosophile dans la cuvette –
Ni de quoi, ni pourquoi ou quand.
Ni les odeurs attirantes,
Le chant d’une aile qui vibre.
Ni les éclats du soleil,
Plus rien à regretter.
♣
Une drosophile = une mouche
Pour courtiser une femelle, le mâle déploie une aile et la fait vibrer.
Español
El asiento de inodoro nuevo
En mis paseos cotidianos encontré un asiento de inodoro nuevo.
Es raro se encuentre con algo útil en ese año de enojo.
Ah, sí, los pechos, los culos bonitos, pero los hay por todas partes,
Pero este trono, libre y limpio… ¡Y sin ni un solo loco!
Al menos, ustedes doy las gracias
Es una pena, querido pez, que tengas que morir para que yo pueda comer.
No es en absoluto mi deseo, aunque reconozco mi necesidad.
Y tú, la baya que hay que recoger, las uvas que pisamos,
Los tubérculos a quien apunta la azada… Al menos, ustedes doy las gracias.
La mosca
La mosca que flotaba en la taza del retrete
no tenía nada de que preocuparse.
Había vivido con miedo y huyendo,
pero ahora, antes de la descarga,
no pensaba ni en por qué,
las bailes y las peleas.
No pensaba en el ala
que vibraba de amor.
♣
Para cortejar a una hembra, el macho de la Drosophila extiende un ala y la hace vibrar.
— Poems and artwork by Wm. Eaton
the earlier versions
Thanks, perhaps, are not enough
It is unfortunate, my dear fish,
Your life ended with this dish.
Can I say it wa not my wish,
Though I recognize my need?
And you, the berry that will be plucked,
The succulent grape we crush,
The settled tubers the hoe disrupts,
Our hungry mouths to feed.
I found in my Paris walking
I found in my Paris walking
A brand-new toilet seat.
Rare it is these autumn days
With much of use I meet.
Oh the breasts, les jolies fesses,
The many visions sweet,
But easier them to do without
Than a brand-new toilet seat.