“There are no words”
Translated by Emilie Moorhouse
There are no words
Only hairs
In a world without greenery
Where my breasts are kings
There are no deeds
Only my skin
And the ants that crawl between my unctuous legs
Carry masks of silence while laboring.
Come night and your bliss
And my deep body, mindless octopus
Swallows your excited cock
As it is born.
Translated from the French
Notes:
Read the French-language original, “Il n’y a pas de mots.”
This poem is part of “When Can I See You Again: The Poetry of Joyce Mansour,” translated by Emilie Moorhouse. You can read the rest of the portfolio in the June 2023 issue. All the English translations of Joyce Mansour’s poems are from Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems, edited by Emilie Moorhouse and Garrett Caples. Translations copyright © 2023 by Emilie Moorhouse. Reprinted with the permission of City Lights Books. For more information, visit www.citylights.com.
Source:
Poetry
(June 2023)
