You threw my eyes in the sea
You tore my dreams out of my hands
You cut out my bluish belly button
And in the green seaweeds of my floating hair
You drowned the embryo.
***
I've stolen the yellow bird
Living in the devil's sex.
It will teach me how to seduce
Men, deer, angels with double wings.
It will take away my thirst, my clothing, my illusions
It will sleep
But my sleep runs across roofs
Murmuring, gesturing, violently making love
With cats.
***
Flies on the bed
On the ceiling in your mouth on your eyes
Lying on them sheets up to his neck
The impotent cunning ignorant man
Leave me my skin
Leave me my belly intact.
***
Joyce Mansour was a member of the surrealist group in Paris, and is one of my favorite surrealist poets. These translations by Serge Gavronsky are from Screams (Post-Apollo Press) and Torn Apart (Bitter Oleander Press).
You tore my dreams out of my hands
You cut out my bluish belly button
And in the green seaweeds of my floating hair
You drowned the embryo.
***
I've stolen the yellow bird
Living in the devil's sex.
It will teach me how to seduce
Men, deer, angels with double wings.
It will take away my thirst, my clothing, my illusions
It will sleep
But my sleep runs across roofs
Murmuring, gesturing, violently making love
With cats.
***
Flies on the bed
On the ceiling in your mouth on your eyes
Lying on them sheets up to his neck
The impotent cunning ignorant man
Leave me my skin
Leave me my belly intact.
***
Joyce Mansour was a member of the surrealist group in Paris, and is one of my favorite surrealist poets. These translations by Serge Gavronsky are from Screams (Post-Apollo Press) and Torn Apart (Bitter Oleander Press).
posted by:
|
Portland
|
-
Re: Three Poems by Joyce Mansour
Wed, August 11, 2004 - 7:42 PMhmnn, interesting,I liked the feeling these have, I would love to read them in French, I love Breton in French, although he hasn't always been translated well into English. A lot of times they had plays on words or expressions and unfortunately that tends to get lost, also my French probably isn't good enough to catch them all.... ;) -
-
Re: Three Poems by Joyce Mansour
Fri, February 4, 2005 - 5:57 AMI fell in love with this woman's work. I was so fortunate to find a, very close to perfect, copy of Joyce Mansour's (Co-written with Ted Joan's) Flying Piranha for 20$ when they tend to go for over $100. I don't think the seller knew what they were selling. Yay for me!
Her Illustrations are amazing also. -
-
Re: Three Poems by Joyce Mansour
Fri, February 4, 2005 - 10:26 AMGreat find! I had no idea they (Joans and Mansour) even collaborated!
-
-
