Eternal Return

I ran for thousands of years, throwing my spears toward my fears; I drank the blood of my prey to carry my days further through this maze; The gods were showing me signs of their designs between the lines... The brightness of your youth froze me, your ghostly smile reduced the whole world to a little square... I learned to caress the earth, to cheer for a birth, to moan when I follow a hearse; The gods gave me the rain, a sheep and a grain, a cycle to follow again and again, all these because you showed up, you, visual drug, swirling in my blood... The brightness of your youth froze me your ghostly smile reduced the whole world to a little square My trip came to a close, I am as happy as I can be, I’d do anything to keep whatever we got here that makes us feel complete... You smoothly laid down my pride, devoured my selfishness, I’d kill to know you’re fine I’d die for you, questionless. The brightness of your youth froze me your ghostly smile reduced the whole world

Words got stuck in my throat, all I can say is blah… I’m sick with the most inexplicable plague... I cry with a smile on my face, I’m not upset, not at all, I am as happy as I can be - to happiness I sold my soul. Under the tree, I stare at its bloom ants eating my back I dream about seas melting on shores, creating this splendor, driving me mad... She’s riding a bull across the field, yelling and laughing, so bright! Naked and precious, outspreading her arms, enjoying life, performing its rite.

She sleeps in a cave, hiding her beauty from eyes like mine, eager to steal what they see. She wears intertwined flowers, she dances at sunrise, I’m possessed by her charm, but she’s not looking at me… is she? Her dad holds the world on his very shoulders he’s humpbacked and angry all the time. After sunset, in her hiding, she smoulders, but at dawn she's ready to shine again... Tonight the sky is revealing its moon, my veins are whipping my heart, I'm a silent shadow stalking through the room, hunting this walking piece of art... For an instant we were twins in each other's eyes, tears of joy for the love of the god. At midnight I left her asleep on her shrine and went walking while the rain turned into a flood of bliss...

We've got inside jokes, arguments, wedding rings, nicknames, thousands of photos from our honeymoon trip, we play the game, roll the dice, take a chance, the harvest of life we’re ready to reap. We're two crabs involved in a parallel dance on a deserted beach at the end of the world, we didn't attend a single ballet class but we try pas de deux right here, in the dirt. We dive with confidence into the heavy sea We've got signatures, bank credits, high hopes, hormones, a bucket of dreams, a shot glass of chance, we share the bed, pay the bills, run down some lines, two halves of one whole perspiring romance… Crossing taboos on a delicate bridge, luring each other to the dragon's den, caressing the beast, strangling our fears, carefully stealing each other's gem We dive with confidence into the heavy sea Every day is the same day in a way, our lives are running in a regular loop, spontaneous moments make room for clichés, haikus gather into thick books... We dive with confidence into the heavy sea

She’s wearing boots, high-heeled ones, her dress waves above the Mediterranean, her marble skin is carved with histories - battles and laws and family trees... She likes to feel you, child, growing inside, her swelling world, her radiant pride, the blade will lick her belly delicately, you're gonna walk out the door without using a key... Taking one step, then another one, stumbling around, bumping into everyone, making allies without even saying a word, socializing from under your momma's skirt. I suggest you carefully choose your friends: at times lions can be mistaken for lambs - once you turn your back, you're under attack, boy, open up your eyes! Wooden sword, my lord already leads a cohort, boyhood, attitude, ruler of the neighborhood, one day you'll have an army of your own, you'll conquer the world and call it home... A laurel wreath will be your crown, your enemies will kneel at your tiniest frown, an Egyptian queen will caress your scanty hair, for centuries they'll talk about this single affair...

Dog days desiccate the golden fields, suffocating, the summer runs cruel… Head shaded by a cheerful umbrella, comfortable enough, feet cooling in the pool. There’s something written on the wall, a word that can inspire us all, its letters are splattered with blood… It states Peace! A stroll in the graveyard of former foes: alleys are gloomy, shadows of strifes... Games are fixed and hands are slippery, politics, dear, are just as fair as life... There's no need to measure the ethics: what is significant - the paper or the headline? To build you need mortar, but also some bricks, being a virgin doesn't make you divine... Digging shit holes will make us august, let's fill the fountains with freshness from afar! We could replace the dull clay with marble, convert the battlefield into a park...

They set the city on fire craving to kill its pride... Their faith was wrapped in barbed wire, they took a morning flight and rewrote the chronicle of mankind, believing by noon they will be divine. I wonder how it feels to be sacrificed on prime time... Their anger was walking a wire more than a thousand feet above the swarming of an empire, above the narrow streets in the land of the free, the home of the brave, where yellow cabs crawl in a parallel maze. That day they were part of the cast in a dreadful play... The age of vicious hatred is here, our blood is running cold. Mock justice is toying with fear, its scales are measuring gold. The city's burning to remind us all we are completely out of control - a milestone of horror on this anxious earth, the day we lost our soul...

Let's drink to the dream of a better life, we'll be all equal and safe, we'll rise a new colorless humankind, nice people, an entirely new race... To the bottom, till the end, pour another one, my friend, till my soul bleeds, till I'm free, till I'm drunk enough to see I'm wrong, but who cares? We'll not be the same tomorrow or ever again, we'll worship the most vicious murderers, assuming they saved our poor land... We're only human, so, you see? We can't be blamed for our family tree, give me blood to paint my soul, I'm just a red cell in this whole craziness lingers on the wall of shame... The trains running through the veins of the land are carrying the people we don't need, let's drink to the old and the useless, we're already too many to feed. I have to cut the bullshit, mate, I mistook God for the state, I left them riding till they were all gone, I put them back where they belonged... Craziness lingers on the wall of shame... May the dead ones dance all night, may we remember the archetype of all the lies we have been told, all the stories from the old, may the heroes remain unknown, buried in mass graves, all alone, may we pass in a gentle way, may we see our children play...

Little by little the day is done, little by little the dark kills the sun, little by little all the green turns grey, little by little there’s nothing left to say… Little by little our paths depart, little by little our dreams are ripped apart, little by little this race is run, little by little I learn I’m not the one… Little by little the arrows hit their mark, little by little the world is losing its spark, little by little my life seems a charade, little by little I’m getting lonely and afraid.

Cover your head, take out your blade and pour life's wine! Today gods are walking among us, today they are kind... Let the drums burst out, let them boom right now, the rhythm is shaking our times... Lose your clothes, put on a mask and roll the bloody dice! There's always a rule and an exception, always a price... Sing me a freedom song from where you belong, the world turned into paradise... Out of our minds, when conventions are wiped out for one day a year. Today my master is playing the butler while I play the guest, he cooks the dinner, carries the tray and tries to impress. There's a gift I have for you, you have one for me too, today I'm allowed to be blessed…

There is a grid of gaps in my head - every day I'm a new man, my memory is small. You like to remember, I love to forget, you say the past is important, I know the future's my all: the dispute of a lifetime... I’m sitting on the doorstep, playing with my watch, they will light the fireworks any minute now. Back to back in a Siamese touch, we should feel the same, but you let me down somehow with your old tales... I wish you the best, let’s cheer, may the good times roll, let’s celebrate the new, it’s time to say goodbye, my dear, until we meet again I’m gonna miss you too, but now I have to go! You carried a jug pouring down a stream like an Ingres girl, coming to life from “The Source”. You were following the traces of the ancient dream of happily ever after, but now you want to divorce... Tomorrow I'll forget you anyway…

I’m getting ugly, bald and fat sitting on this couch, watching the game… My universe has shrunk to this humble flat, every day is quite the same. I wish I were a gravedigger, I’m sure I would cherish life more! My woman doesn't seem to care we're stuck in a routine, she's just hungry for compliments. Her wardrobe is full but she has nothing to wear, this story doesn't seem to end... I think I'm going fishing, I can be no valentine these glorious days... The axe kisses the ice twice, cutting a slice, a black hole I stole from the winter’s white soul, hallucinating vortex, it sips me inside, my own reflection’s taking me for a ride. Ah, I’m drowning, the icy claws are ripping me apart! Ah, astounding, the shock of this coldness is making my heart beat again.

(trad. de Dan Byron & Sergiu Mitrofan) Împletim priviri, degustăm lumea, respirăm aerul nopții așezați pe nisip, aruncăm inocent zaruri de plumb, destine-nvârtind până la răsărit - doi crabi încleștați într-un dans paralel la un capăt de lume, pe-un țărm uitat, desculți alergând pe faleze pustii, sfidând gravitații cu-n aer distrat. În valuri ne scufundăm deplin încrezători... Ne-ntâlnim la mijloc undeva, în lume, întâmplător, improvizăm fără s-avem vreun plan, aruncăm cu teorii despre cum e să fii, ne ținem de mână ca de-un ultim liman. Clandestin traversăm pe un pod delicat tabuuri pierdute într-un ev depășit. Sufocându-ne spaimele, intrăm în bârlog să-mblânzim un balaur ușor adormit. În valuri ne scufundăm deplin încrezători... Orice zi e aceeași zi mai mereu, viața se scurge, regulat, după plan, sclipirea spontană se preface-n clișeu, haiku-ul devine-un roman...