Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Robert Perišić

MESTIZO

Miss, under your window a gentleman Joao stands
black is his heart, his home distant and empty. ‘Scuse me – that
lapel, that rose, white linen shirt
and his dark neck
are waiting for you. every night by the sea he utters: guapa
guapa guapa baring his teeth to the moon Joao Carbina,
The gypsies sing:
                        Young man in front of your house
                        Be nice to him Paola Martin
 
San Juan Daily (Jun 24, 1909.)
he was all alone and disturbed
". . . crazy for the gold . . . I crouched
on the beach and flogged the sea . . ."
(his arrest
was based on that statement
about a very strange case)
and the sorrowful
Evil Latina, as he called her because of her cruelty,
walked naked on the beach in that hour,
as usual, catching rare
night butterflies with her net
 
. . . I'll eat an apple
hardened in . . .
because he can't think, the beast is too fast
he talks all the time
a suspect for murder
in the cell with an ex-confessor
who will calm him down
and before the trial he’ll claim
"if you confess,
your are screwed . . .
because little whores are full of bones"
and he will continue to explain,
all in all, they will have long talks
and Joao Carbina will understand some things in the end
and he'll be much, much worse than before 

MESTIZO

MESTIZO

Gđico, pod Vašim prozorom sjedi gentleman Joao
crno mu srce, dalek prazan dom. izvin'te – taj
rever, ruža, košulja od bijela lana
i njegov tamni vrat
čekaju Vas. svake noći pred morem govori: guapa
guapa guapa i mjesecu pokazuje zube Joao Carbina,
Cigani pjevaju:
                        pred kućom Vam momak stoji mlad
                        ne bud'te zla Paola Martin
 
San Juan Daily (24. 6. 1909.)
bio je već potpuno sam i nerazuman
". . .izbezumljen od zlata . . . čučnuo sam
na obalu i šibom udarao po moru . . ."
(uhapšen
na osnovu tog iskaza
u ovom neobičnom slučaju)
a nesretna
Zla Latinka, nazvao ju je tako zbog njene okrutnosti,
u to doba je, obično, potpuno gola hodala plažom
i mrežom lovila rijetke
noćne leptire
 
. . . pojest ću jabuku
okorjelu u . . .
jer ne može misliti, zvijer je prebrza
nema toga što ne govori
osumnjičen za umorstvo
u ćeliji s jednim bivšim ispovjednikom
koji će ga primirivati
i prije suđenja mu tvrditi
da "priznanje sa sobom
nosi zajeb . . .
jer su male kurve pune kostiju"
koji će mu dugo objašnjavati
uopće, oni će razgovarati dugo
Joao Carbina će shvatiti neke stvari
i postat će još gori, još puno gori
Close

MESTIZO

Miss, under your window a gentleman Joao stands
black is his heart, his home distant and empty. ‘Scuse me – that
lapel, that rose, white linen shirt
and his dark neck
are waiting for you. every night by the sea he utters: guapa
guapa guapa baring his teeth to the moon Joao Carbina,
The gypsies sing:
                        Young man in front of your house
                        Be nice to him Paola Martin
 
San Juan Daily (Jun 24, 1909.)
he was all alone and disturbed
". . . crazy for the gold . . . I crouched
on the beach and flogged the sea . . ."
(his arrest
was based on that statement
about a very strange case)
and the sorrowful
Evil Latina, as he called her because of her cruelty,
walked naked on the beach in that hour,
as usual, catching rare
night butterflies with her net
 
. . . I'll eat an apple
hardened in . . .
because he can't think, the beast is too fast
he talks all the time
a suspect for murder
in the cell with an ex-confessor
who will calm him down
and before the trial he’ll claim
"if you confess,
your are screwed . . .
because little whores are full of bones"
and he will continue to explain,
all in all, they will have long talks
and Joao Carbina will understand some things in the end
and he'll be much, much worse than before 

MESTIZO

Miss, under your window a gentleman Joao stands
black is his heart, his home distant and empty. ‘Scuse me – that
lapel, that rose, white linen shirt
and his dark neck
are waiting for you. every night by the sea he utters: guapa
guapa guapa baring his teeth to the moon Joao Carbina,
The gypsies sing:
                        Young man in front of your house
                        Be nice to him Paola Martin
 
San Juan Daily (Jun 24, 1909.)
he was all alone and disturbed
". . . crazy for the gold . . . I crouched
on the beach and flogged the sea . . ."
(his arrest
was based on that statement
about a very strange case)
and the sorrowful
Evil Latina, as he called her because of her cruelty,
walked naked on the beach in that hour,
as usual, catching rare
night butterflies with her net
 
. . . I'll eat an apple
hardened in . . .
because he can't think, the beast is too fast
he talks all the time
a suspect for murder
in the cell with an ex-confessor
who will calm him down
and before the trial he’ll claim
"if you confess,
your are screwed . . .
because little whores are full of bones"
and he will continue to explain,
all in all, they will have long talks
and Joao Carbina will understand some things in the end
and he'll be much, much worse than before 
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