The Photo


a can of beans opened
a bottle of patriot brandy
tomato salad
he tells me
defying the object lens
( in the back
a clock stock-still
above a three-arm candlestick)
of someone
who’s watching him today
how he scrubbed the faeces off the toilets
till on the white marble
small dollar bills
appeared from under the mop
but now I stop and look for my pack of cigarettes
I don’t know where I left it
or maybe I smoked them
the one in the photo
fails to finish his sentence
I look and behind it
someone from around here is playing with me
I didn’t finish my coffee
I keep looking
annoyed
I take a gulp from the bottle of patriot
he asks me not get drunk
but I can’t fiind the pack
he offers me a nobles
I refuse it
I don’t want to go back
just for cigarette
I keep gobbling the beans
finally I see a butt
I light it satisfied
tear the photo into four shreds
and throw them into the ash-tray




Traducerea Petru Iamandi