About the Mouth of a River

Tomaž Šalamun translated by Michael Thomas Taren




Rabbit, a gray tiny rabbit, why don't you put on weight?
Who likes you, pump! Your ears are scrolls
of bread, what can I do with them? Even if I
put them back on the horse, they fall down.

Rabbit, a gray tiny rabbit, I do best to throw
you in water, to soak your head with a daisy.
You violate my philistines, as you once more put
cabbage on the menu. My cabbage is sacred,
yours not. You eat it with your little teeth, but
your teeth don't multiply and replenish the earth!

Rabbit, a gray tiny rabbit, step on blue
paper, so your paws can be seen.
They're humble like orchids. I'm a lion.