Wednesday 30 May 2007

Un cor by Johannes Beilharz

In memory of Catherine

On the toe between your middle toe and your little toe of your left foot
(the »ring toe«)


You, as a whole, the one I said I feel like eating entièrement sometimes


And, if I'm not mistaken, an instrument, brass


The on-and-off honking of cars I hear while we’re on the phone, cruising going on along a desolate main street in Haute Marne, yellow lights impinging on dust and the occasional dog


While not a noise is heard behind the hermetic glass panes of my far-away empty house–


Johannes Beilharz, Germany


[Poet's Note: This plays with French to an extent that might make it meaningless for readers not familiar with French, hence a brief explanation:“cor” can refer to a corn, the undesirable thing one might have on a toe, or to a horn (musical instrument). The word “corps” (for body) is pronounced the same as “cor”, and there is yet another phonetic similarity – “un cor” and “encore” (still) – the title plays with.]

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