“New Man”

“…Try to enter through the narrow door…”

St. Luke the Evangelist

Hit by the vicious blow
Of an outrageous life,
Nauseous of pricey fads,
And cheap deference,
Distant from bourgeois
Custom and mores,
Already aging
Way before my time…
I walk in distress,
I walk… lifeless,
headed towards the streets
of my childhood.
…And here each single moment
Is my very own --
Here a storefront
And window in lights,
There a bunch of flowers,
‘The Yellow Boutique’
And the sweet dead-end
of ‘dream’ and ‘recall’.
* * *
In the memory store,
Silent toys,
Flashing smiles
Of decked-up dolls,
Stand side by side
with soldier and car…
My maimed souvenirs --
Go away… get lost!
* * *
Hall of fantasy,
Dauntless champion,
Azure mountain-lake,
Daring on the wing,
Sporting items,
Ski, skate, javelin…
I was meant to be
king of the mountain!
* * *
Stay this way,
Always side by side,
Familiar windows
of memory and dream.

But…between the pair
A narrow door,
That is shut tight
As the lid of a sightless eye:
So, do they still stand as one?
Or, have memory and dream
split in two…?
* * *

Hit by the vicious blow
Of an outrageous life,
Nauseous of pricey fads,
And cheap deference,
Distant from bourgeois
Custom and mores,
Already aging
Way before my time …
I have vowed to enter
Through the locked door,
To unite memory
And dream… through life.

* * *
When you are livid
At your rotten luck,
Go through the narrow door and
step out as New Man.

VARAND
Translated By: TATUL SONENTZ