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April 21, 2004

ass poetry #1


The Peacock

By unfurling his tail, this bird
Whose plumage drags the grass
Seems lovelier than before,
But thus reveals his ass.

— Guillaume Apollinaire, The Bestiary

posted at 12:56 PM | art/music

comments

  1. My translation is superior to others available because of its use of the word ‘ass.’

    posted by jacob on April 21, 2004 2:53 PM

  2. i agree to the superiority of it! and i like “unfurling his tail”…as graceful an image than the original, “en faisant la roue” (“while malking a cartwheel”, which isn’t said of peacocks in english)

    please do the mouse, my favourite

    posted by nathalie on April 21, 2004 7:13 PM

  3. well here is my translation and one found on the net.

    The Mouse

    Lovely days, mice of time,
    You are chewing my life away.
    God! I just turned twenty nine
    Leaving a trail of disarray.

    The Mouse

    Sweet days, the mice of time,
    You gnaw my life, moon by moon.
    God! I’ve twenty eight years soon,
    and badly spent ones I imagine.

    posted by nathalie on April 21, 2004 7:20 PM

  4. i would have gone with “leaving a trail of disgrace.” but then even though i read a season in hell, i don’t know what it’s about.

    posted by chris on April 21, 2004 9:42 PM

  5. here’s my attempt, in deference to jacob i have crowbared in a cuss:

    mice of the world, housed in each clock
    chewed me up with your little mouths
    ah fuck! it’s judgement more than luck
    i’m twenty-eight and squandered out

    posted by chris on April 21, 2004 10:04 PM

  6. wow, excellent translations, you two! i am impressed. and thank you for the cuss, i love it. “housed in each clock” is great, too.

    posted by jacob on April 21, 2004 10:49 PM

  7. praise is inspiring, here’s “le chat” for you:

    i want to have by my hearth
    a lady with lots of smarts
    shelves of books, one with a cat
    friends at every season’s start
    i cannot live without that

    sunny and brash!

    posted by chris on April 22, 2004 3:56 PM

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