In a factory where they make chloramphenicol
          cats          loiter

one—gnarled
          like a woodblock: waterlogged, barnacled
another—thin with an elongated tongue—
          a fireman’s hook
and the third—huge like a calm
          in the Persian Gulf

Knee deep in mud. For centuries, we have stood where the bogwaters suck.
In the grasp of the inanimate,

there are no straight lines. A sack race is good for a laugh.
And like the Lord’s own trumpets, funnels multiply in the muck.

Once again, darling, yours is a resinous, intimate whisper.
Once again, I’ll bring you pelts and sprigs of heather.

There are fewer and fewer animals in the capital.
Less and less often
are the torches of bears
raised above the tall
towers of apartments.
More and more often,
they fall down
shrieking
in an eclipse.
Snorting, they lick
the ears of stone sailors on rooftops.

Chacal et corneille : pas de sang extérieur ni interne
entre eux. Au loin se dessine une dynamite fumante.
Leurs contours, qui ne tiennent qu’à un fil, déjà prêts
à quitter le noyau de noirceur, revêtir un aspect provisoire.

Au-dessus d’eux des bulles de discours qui dérivent, bande dessinée
qu’on feuillète sur la plage piquante et venteuse. Et la grotte moderne est fermée.
Le temps se dégage. On comprend que le photographe enfoui
jusqu’à la ceinture est fait de bronze et ne cadre personne.