The Day of the Faces
(Translated from "Der Tag der Gesichter" by Thomas Bernhard)
Tomorrow is the day of the faces. They will
rise like dust
and break out in laughter.
Tomorrow is the day of the faces, who have
fallen into the potato-earth. I can
not deny, that I
am guilty of these dyings of shoots.
I am guilty!
Tomorrow is the day of the faces, who wear
my pain on the forehead,
who own my day’s work.
Tomorrow is the day of the faces, who dance
like flesh on the graveyard wall
and reveal Hell to me.
Why must I see Hell? There is no
other way
to God?
A Voice: There is no other way! And this
way
leads over the day of the faces,
it leads through hell.
Copyright
The voice imitator said, when asked, that, no, he could not imitate his own voice. Not because, as it was suspected, he had no voice, not because (he didn’t like to admit this) his voice was made up of every voice that he had ever heard, but because (and this is true) his voice was copyrighted and he could be held responsible for any infringement.
Grocery Store Pickup
I saw you Walt Whitman
(Nice tomateyou)
childless lonely
Wanna see what this cucumber
can do?
old grubber
I’ve bean looking for a man or woman like you
poking
among the meats
aged like this fine wine
in the refrigerator
I put my Louisiana andouille in your silver basket
and eyeing the grocery boys rye looks perfect
for an us sandwich
(Translated from "Der Tag der Gesichter" by Thomas Bernhard)
Tomorrow is the day of the faces. They will
rise like dust
and break out in laughter.
Tomorrow is the day of the faces, who have
fallen into the potato-earth. I can
not deny, that I
am guilty of these dyings of shoots.
I am guilty!
Tomorrow is the day of the faces, who wear
my pain on the forehead,
who own my day’s work.
Tomorrow is the day of the faces, who dance
like flesh on the graveyard wall
and reveal Hell to me.
Why must I see Hell? There is no
other way
to God?
A Voice: There is no other way! And this
way
leads over the day of the faces,
it leads through hell.
Copyright
The voice imitator said, when asked, that, no, he could not imitate his own voice. Not because, as it was suspected, he had no voice, not because (he didn’t like to admit this) his voice was made up of every voice that he had ever heard, but because (and this is true) his voice was copyrighted and he could be held responsible for any infringement.
Grocery Store Pickup
I saw you Walt Whitman
(Nice tomateyou)
childless lonely
Wanna see what this cucumber
can do?
old grubber
I’ve bean looking for a man or woman like you
poking
among the meats
aged like this fine wine
in the refrigerator
I put my Louisiana andouille in your silver basket
and eyeing the grocery boys rye looks perfect
for an us sandwich