the fifth horseman
darkness rides itself
wrapped in an empty cloak
on the back of a frothing stallion
mouthing phantom malice
without a rider to give it voice
soulless
searching for someone new
to...
Yellow Manhattan
All night cross-town cabs
yellow black Manhattan
traveling at the speed of metered time.
Surrounded by hubbub and sound
honking their way to curb exits.
Driven by expatriated hacks
who...
mercy
Broken man, your fists, two blue sphinx
curled atop a frayed wool blanket
guarding what wastes beneath.
And still, that ruthless countenance
remembered from childhood…
your brute face
eyeing me...
The Reprieve
You flew
in my room
I'd left
the door
cracked against
the autumn air
A wren you were
no bigger
than a latchkey
Lucky for you
it was only me
in residence
The cat was
gone
just dreaming
perhaps
of...
Orbitorb/blindedblind
mă îmbătam
și ziceam că
iarna e o iluzie
că verdele e doar
un mucegai
de jur împrejur
niște îngeri râdeau
(orbitorb)
I would get drunk
So I could say
Winter is an illusion
and...
alternative conversation
next to my house
in a towering maple’s highest crook
I’ve wedged an empty soup can
open side angled up
with a string attached to its bottom end
tautly...
the holy city in my dreams
jazz fusions blew my mind last night, man
Monk was walkin black spiders down
eighty-eight west as rain fell in sheets and
blink-blink-blink the vibes lit up
ambulance...
disorder
your silent moments
are just uncolored
shards
(disorder)
_________________
tăcerile tale
sînt doar cioburi
necolorate
(dezordini)
By PUIU JIPA: disorder (translated by dana neacsu & heath mayhew)
The revolutionist
hunted down
they found him in an open field
riddled with scraps of poetry
half thought out verse
set in awkward measure
broken mouth
dammed with thwarted doves
fingers crushed
stained with...
children
I saw you today
like yesterday
and I howled wolf
what if I'd told you
we were looking away perhaps in the ground
and we made love
first I
then you never
you gave me a cigarette
which...
nouveau math
ridiculously narrow women
poured into black spandex
circle their own cool shadows
pencil thin
wandering free form
over the illusion of abstract leafless branches
interrupted sunlight scatters
down the edge of...
promise
swirling banner
wind whipped
color coded
a field of stars
a row of stripes
remembering when
freedom
found a country
to plant its perfect flag upon
made a promise
we pledge with our hearts
to...
floating
îmi amintesc de tine
doar cînd dorm
cu genele pline
de nesomn
(plutire)
I recall you
asleep
with lashes heavy
of awake
(floating)
***
By PUIU JIPA: floating (translation by dana neacsu; visual calin georgescu)