Friday, October 5, 2007

Surrounding Me


Objects on the floor
Wooden frames holding family photos
Bits of shredded corrugated cardboard
Multicolored ball always calling to me
Pile of human clothing next to a bag of human clothing

Stuff on the wall
Cases of shelves of books
Evidence of traveling
Barely noticeable fingerprints
Barely noticeable traces of my feline fragrance
One dead bug mysteriously killed
It could have been suicide

Things in containers
Crunchy meat things for my food
Burbling upside-down bottle of water
Pockets of discs covered in the scent of another cat
Rumbling metal box with winter inside
Unstable white monstrosity in the bathroom
Always threatening to tumble on me

These things surrounding me
Keep me company when the lord and lady
Are out and about breathing the air that often blows in from the windows
I never wonder what's for breakfast

Translator's Note: This poem was inspired by Gertrude Stein's "Tender Buttons" poetry. He came upon Ms. Stein's work when I was listening to an album of the same name.

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