Converging, they vanish, one in front of the other—
the bear and the fish—
circling
patiently.
In belts of barnacles
souls.
Each one
shifts his weight from foot to foot
squints
as if having lost
a contact.

Who led me across the city that morning?
Behind the railway station, he sat me down at a low
wooden table and produced a bottle. We cracked it like a watermelon.
My Adam's apple bobbing, as though I and the rails had shared the swallow.

On the fence was a pumpkin. I used to think the elixir of debility
was in the potato. But no! It's in the pumpkin,
an octave below. From the instability
of its inner glow, fingers of pulp emerge as if counting.

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.

Schakal und Krähe. Durch kein inneres oder äußeres Blut vereint.
In der Ferne eine Skizze, rauchendes Dynamit. Ihre Schemen
– in der Schwebe – sind bereit, den Kern der Dunkelheit
zu verlassen und eine unfertige Gestalt anzunehmen.

Darüber treiben Sprechblasen – aufblätternde Comics. Ein Strand: dürftig,
kahlrippig und windabgewandt. Geschlossen die Grotte mit Souvernirs.
Es schüttete aus Eimern. Langsam wurde klar, dass der bis zur Hüfte
eingegrabene Fotograf aus Bronze war. Er hatte niemanden fokussiert.