Hasenmatt I

O dark dark dark. I slowly went downstairs
And saw the party rolling, music roaring,
The rainbow skirts like whirlpools, dark, o dark,
The voices all submerged, the glasses clinking.
I slowly elbowed through the cheering limbo
And picked a beer can from the nearest tray
Deciding I could go for whisky later
Or not at all. Then suddenly a girl,
Nice, beautiful, redheaded, darted forward,
Raised glass of fizz, smiled, and proposed a toast.
Her voice was barely audible, her eyes
Were shy and kind, and shone with natural grace.
A nameless band was hammering their song.
The crowd was busy singing, dark, o dark.
I smiled and drank. Then asked myself, why now?
Then told myself, too late, the game has ended.
Then smiled again, o dark, o fair maiden,
Take notice in thy youthful game of passion.
Your soul must tell a lover from a corpse
Or else be bruised and tattered. Now, depart.
The throbbing pain was mingling in my ears
With dull and monotonous sound still beating
Through fetid air. I turned, and drank, and drank,
And she was gone. I saw her far away,
And then she stood there, looking lost and losing,
And then my world went blank on me. O dark.


/February 26, 2011/