Lemmings

Two crows
chasing each other
at three o'clock

Far out in the carpet sky
- piled on top of the roofy landscape
an endless repetition of greys

I listen to the silence of traffic
of computer ventilation
and of my own sneezy breath

The seconds've formed a queue
on my right shoulder
like lemmings they jump down

one after one

***

Happy Birthday Leo!

Jump On This Boat!

It's considered bad manners to write about a book before you are finished reading it. But there's a but: Due to coincidence I'm reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra at the same time. 

They seem to share quite a deal.

And since I've laughed out loud three time before reaching page 6 in Toole's weird tale of Ignatius J. Reilly, I need to quote one of his lines (he's thirty, living with his mother):

"I dust a bit," Ignatius told the policeman. "In addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip."

I am very sure that I'm going to enjoy this book.

Don Quixote was lost to me for many years. A clear victim of German class - where they seem to have taught most people NOT to read. We read the first page of the first chapter. I still remember the words - the translation, compared to the English one by John Ormsby I'm reading now must've been lousy. We had to write a content summary. I didn't only consider Don Quixote boring crap for years - I disliked content summaries for as long as I was a student as well. What a waste! 

The tale of the Spanish knight (remember: bad manners - I've hardly started reading) seems to be miraculously funny, witty, strange and deep. 

Thanks to Kevin Dorney for tipping me into his direction again. And thanks to Daniel Wouters for sending A Confederacy of Dunces by mail from Spain or Switzerland or wherever it were...

Pillow Over Me Head

I've put a pillow over me head
feels better that way  -
it protects me
from too much noise
and it sort of slows down time

Does time run or walk?

I nick the corner of the pillow
when people look at me
their eyes telling me that I look stupid
but I'd rather keep it on my head
and pay that price

I don't know if time runs or walks
it probably can do both - like people
and sometimes I think it's gaining speed
(that's an old one, of course..)

---

My pillow and me
we went to the supermarket
a couple of days ago

I bought nuts and yoghurt
and went to the counter
where an old lady looked at me
 - she found my pillow perfectly normal
in its fluffy whiteness
and I thanked her for letting me go first
(she was reading the headlines)

I think she could've been Margaret Thatcher
or a sister of Roger Ebert
and I think she wanted a pillow too

All those people dying:
another reason
to keep mine 

My Toe is Broken

I take off my left shoe
or is it the right one?

I always mix that up
pu taht xim syawla I

my big left toe is bent
way to the inside

how did that happen?
I must've stumbled

over a rock
in a dream