TOMAŽ ŠALAMUN
SAND
Forks, grasshoppers, little cats, braces, goblets,
toasts. Hit that window. Hmm, husband, not only
did we cover nature, we also swallowed
monkeys, elephants, a badger, wild boars,
a mouse, a pike, a gallant bison and the worst
esthetic: the crystal is a vessel for meat.
The crystal is not a vessel for meat. The crystal is
a goblet for wine. Therefore the dilemma is:
to swallow the urine or to rewind the ribbon.
I’m for rewinding the ribbon, otherwise
the difference between carving and the withdrawal
would be minimal. So minimal the public would
need a magnifying glass. But I hate the magnifying
glass on my skin. I’m not Sven Hedin, I’ don’t
drink camel piss, I’m not stomped into the desert,
I’m lying here on the sand because I love it.
Translated from the Slovenian by Michael Thomas Taren