translated from the Romanian by Adam J. Sorkin & Ioana Ieronim
insomnia
long night endless night
insomnia steals in through the keyhole
steals in through the chimney licked by the moon
steals in through the switch on the bedside lamp steals in
through the weave of the curtainescaped from the wardrobe a vulture
drinks the last drop of water
under the window a horse keeps neighing
in the attic the scrape and gnaw of ratsyou’ve been betrayed by your lover by poetry by Flemish painters
you’ve even been betrayed by an orange’s scent
nobody throws you a life jacket
in this night this dreamlike fiestainsomnia endless insomnia
and all at once the bells’ tolling at dawn
rattles the window and the bed the walls
crash down on top of you
and you fall asleep amidst the rubble of the hours
the dead of this house
eternalized in slightly dusty frames
they wait for contemplation maybe pity
on the part of the guest lodged in the main roomone of them used to be a rich farmer
married to a peasant woman who was rich as well
another worked in offices in the city the tip
of a gold tie pin still gleams
yet another served his country as
a courier in a horse relay his stallion
strains forward ready to jump out of the frameand yet another
my grandfather’s cousin’s brother-in-law
wandered Europe his whole life
returning home at a ripe old age
with a bunch of violets
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