Two Poems @ Open Studio, Can Serrat a collaboration with Paige Preston Byrne (in translated Catalan)

Painting by Paige Preston Byrne (Can Serrat)

Frill-necked Lizard

he's been knocking his knees
at the ant-hill ball
collects his hat and coat
with a flick of tongue
how smart he looks
in his blue suede shoes,
diamontees & pleats

it's wonderful to think
that he's all leather
feisty
not yet skinned

LIangardaix Volant-Nu

ha estat colpejant els genolls
en el ball formiguer
recull el seu barret i l'abric
amb un moviment de la llengua
que sembla intel.ligent
amb les seves sabates blaves de camussa,
diamants i plecs.

es meravellos pensar
que es tot de cuir
lluitador
encara no esqueixat

 

Silverfish

Not as lucky as a Las Vegas dollar                                    

Painting by Paige Preston Byrne (Can Serrat)

nor as silver,

but if you look inside paneled rooms

there may be several silverfish

touring endlessly in the house

of a miser or in one of those 19th century

cottages where the rain soaks North Somerset,

bookshelves covered in trench coats.

You know that silverfish chew into glue,

plaster, paint, photos, sugar, coffee,

hair, carpet, clothing, dandruff,

book bindings and paper (and that's

a lot to get through in a week!)

Imagine one slippery silverfish

in the musty library of a French poet

travelling through paragraphs of Reverdy,

John Donne, Simone De Beauvoir or Sartre,

his hunger moving toward simile and speech,

words curling into little white ropes

and lifting from the page,

one letter at a time.

Peixets de plata

No tant afortunat com un dòlar de Las Vegas

ni tant plateixat

pero si mires dins de les sales amb panells

pot haver diversos peixets de plata

voltant sense parar a casa

d’un avar o en una casa del segle XIX

en la pluja que amara North Somerset,

prestatgeries cobertes de gavardines.

Saps que els peixets de plata masteguen cola,

guix, pintura, fotos, sucre, café,

pel, catifes, roba, caspa,

enquadernacions i paper (i és a dir,

molta feina per una setmana!)

Imaginat un peixet de plata relliscós

a la biblioteca humida d’un poeta francès

viatjant a través dels paràgrafs de Reverdy,

John Donne, Simone de Beauvoir i Sartre,

la seva fam es mou cap al símil i la parla,

les paraules es cargolen en petites cordes blanques

i les lletres es desenganxen de la pàgina una a una.