Parenthesis
Translated By Forrest Gander
Nothing's in the nest. No needles. No newborn ravens.
Maybe something like night in the deep hollow,
an eggshell planet, cracked in the middle, an empty bowl of soup.
Nothing's in the nest. No thread. No webs of words.
Maybe something like my navel, the eclipse of a magnifying glass.
A slice, mute with regard to its empty depths.
In the nest, nothing. The web unwoven. Dismembered.
In the space, something, yes. A piece of cloth. Sounding like flags
taking wing, a worm in its beak and suddenly, eyes, my eyes
which, cutting across the empty air, direct themselves at something noiseless over there.
Copyright Credit: Valerie Mejer, "Parenthesis" from Rain of the Future. Translated by Forrest Gander. Copyright © 2013 by Valerie Mejer. Reprinted by permission of Valerie Mejer.
Source: Rain of the Future (Action Books, 2013)