SATURDAY
—I haven’t forgotten anything
everything is in its place arrayed in order waiting
for the hand to pick
only I couldn’t find the childhood years
nor the location where the hero of the drama was born
nor the first impressions
the ones he recalls in the fifth act
at the apex of misery.
Everything else, here they are, in order:
the masks for the three main emotions
and for the intermediary
the dresses with the pleats ready to move
the partitions, the lights
Medea’s killed children
the poison and the knife.
In this box lies life when it starts being
unbearable
if you pay attention to it you’ll hear its breathing
careful don’t open it before the Furies whistle.
In this glass love of the body exists
and in this other one, the light-blue, the love of the soul
careful do not mix them up
and in this drawer Nessos’ shirt
(act five, third scene)
you remember the speech that starts
‘Enough of life! Io! Io!’
Here is the trumpet that destroys the palace
and the queen appears in her sin
this is the microphone switch
they’ll hear you to the far end of the world
Let’s start! Lights! Good luck!
—Just a moment, who am I to play? Who am I going to kill?
and these people staring at me
how will they believe that justice protects me?
How will they believe?
Oh that we could only love
at least like the bees
not like the doves
at least like the conches
not like the sirens
at least like the ants
not like the plane trees…
but don’t you see them they are all blind!
The blind are asleep.
—Excellent, you may carry on.
Libros Libertad 