THE AWAKENING ROOM II

Author: Uljana Wolf
Translator: Christian Hawkey

oh had i never been in the awakening room
deaf and stranded and rocking in a white boat

tied alongside other boats – yes this is
the last harbor yes this is the damp canal

of sleep where threatening nurses in black
robes stand like judges on the shore

each finger as a strict syringe: drip and
devil my darling can you hear me

and in these locks you can hear nothing
only stillness sanitized otherworldly water

feeding you from tubes drop by drop –
with each swift wave beneath your bed

the sea steals you back into the dream of
star and muzzle far from the awakening room

Originally published in German by © KOOKbooks, Berlin 2005