A long poem
By Tilsa Otta
Translated By Farid Matuk
I hate violence
Even if it’s beautiful and modern
I fear science
When it makes my worst dreams come true
I observe my mutant body
As immediately attractive
Perishable and perennial
But I go back to the moment
In which I say to the mirror
With a flat accent
From nowhere
That only the future
Endures
Now
In these times
When I turn off the alarm clock
And still hear it
That's all I hate
But there’s little that I fear
It couldn't be a long poem
Nothing could be
Copyright Credit: Tilsa Otta, "A long poem" from The Hormone Of Darkness: A Playlist, trans. by Farid Matuk. Copyright © 2024 by Farid Matuk. Reprinted by permission of Graywolf Press, www.graywolfpress.org.
Source: The Hormone Of Darkness: A Playlist (Graywolf Press, 2024)