Mindaugas
Valiukas
WITNESS
III
[excerpt]
III
fall is the red scum of
blood
I witness death
I witness my furled wings
in prayer
witness death
the steamy phosphorus of
rotting leaves
witness death
the cranes drag hector behind
them
I witness death
I witness through sadness
the pain from the pain I
witness the sadness
as the trees turn to wood
the wasps swarm
I witness the sadness
witness the sadness through
panic
and all that is tolling
that is infecting the asps
with excitement
the echos mournful symphony
the echos unappeasable
blood
smashing the confessionals
walls
this truth is not for your
wings
these bridges are not for
your wings
vibrating in the winds
agony
in the curdled static of
fall
stunned for one moment
the cranes drag out even
hector
as a symbol dead but still
loved
the last tilt
from a rusting bridge
Translated
by Erica C. Fiedler
© Mindaugas Valiukas,
1998
© Erica C. Fiedler,
2002
© Amber-Chamber studio,
2003