Author: Yaak Karsunke
Translator: Gregory Divers
travel-picture
after Juan Sánchez Cotán, 1561-1627
the light in this still life comes
from the right & the shadows
fall to the left
amused you notice how completely consistent
with its era is the illumination of things
in this spanish painting
from 16o2
on a table scrubbed clean:
two mushrooms a grape (blue)
two blocks of cheese still half
wrapped in paper
a basket of sweet chestnuts beside
a pewter plate brimful with almonds
:casually & artistically distributed
perhaps one just has to
fly from berlin to chicago
in order to discover
how little it takes
breakfast in the hotel
on the table next to mine
stood a metal shield
with the number seventy-four
i thought to myself
if that’s correct
then i’ve still got ten years
the jacaranda tree blossomed
& i got a tremendous urge
to steal something
From hand & fuß. Lyrikedition 2000, 2004.