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Weldon Kees 2 ! ! ! ! The collected poems of Weldon Kees ! ! ! ! ! ! !1 ! ! ! The collected poems of Weldon Kees a cura di Andrea Valenti ! !2 ! ! ! ! ! THE LAST MAN ! !3 ! ! ! ! ! L’ULTIMO UOMO ! !4 ! ! ! ! ! TO NORRIS GETTY & MAURICE JHONSON ! !5 ! ! ! ! ! A NORRIS GETTY & MAURICE JHONSON ! !6 SUBTITLE ! We present for you this evening A movie of death: observe These scenes chipped celluloid Reveals unsponsored and tax-free. ! We request these things only: All gum must be placed beneath the seats Or swallowed quickly, all popcorn sacks Must be left in the foyer. The doors will remain closed throughout The performance. Kindly consult Your programs: observe that There are no exits. This is A necessary precaution. ! Look for no dialogue, or for the Sound of any human voice: we have seen fit To synchronize this play with Squealings of pigs, slow sound of guns, The sharp dead click Of empty chocolatebar machines. We say again: there are No exits here, no guards to bribe, No washroom windows. ! No finish to the film unless The ending is your own. Turn off the lights, remind The operator of his union card: Sit forward, let the screen reveal Your heritage, the logic of your destiny. ! 1936 ! ! ! !7 SOTTOTITOLO ! Questa sera vi presentiamo Un film di morte: osservate Queste scene di celluloide scheggiata Che rivelano la libertà da sponsor e tasse. ! Vi chiediamo soltanto queste cose: Le gomme vanno appiccicate sotto i sedili O ingoiate in fretta, i sacchetti di popcorn Vanno lasciati nel foyer. Le porte Rimarranno chiuse durante tutto Lo spettacolo. Si prega di consultare I vostri programmi: osservate che Non ci sono uscite. Questa è Una precauzione necessaria. ! Non cercate dialogo, o il Suono di una voce umana: abbiamo ritenuto opportuno Sincronizzare questo dramma con Strilla di maiali, lento suono di cannoni, Il netto schiocco morto Delle macchinette di cioccolata vuote. Lo ripetiamo: non ci sono Uscite qui, né guardie da corrompere, Né finestre in bagno. ! Non ha fine il film a meno che Non gli dai tu una conclusione. Spegnere le luci, ricordare All’agente la sua tessera sindacale: Sedete avanti, lasciare lo schermo rivela La vostra eredità, la logica del vostro destino. ! 1936 ! !8 TWO CITIES ! Salt Lake High spires of piety No smoking on the grounds Wide streets high wind The hotel leaks orchestral sounds. ! "Women and men pulled carts Like oxen." Liquor sold By package only. All the night Wind again rain and unexpected cold. ! The lake continues to recede; the girls Forsake the faith; the Mormon hours pass. We dutifully examine Brigham Young's Gold inkwell (in a case of thumb-marked glass). ! San Francisco Beside the bay, observers penetrate Distance upon distance, cloud on cloud, Crayons of smoke that sketch blue sky With gray appeals. We pause, stretched side by side, Safe for the moment from the nudging crowd, Laughter for strangeness, and old myths crisping in the grate. ! These trinkets, essences that we have saved, Sheathed valuables that hold us here Where gull-cry, wave-wash, dash of listening sea Stir memory and love, are suddenly minute survivors, permanent and clear. - We must go back. Your eyes are mirrors, strangely grave. ! ! ! !9 DUE CITTÀ ! Salt Lake Cime di pietà Non fumare per i motivi Strade larghe vento forte L’albergo lascia trapelare suoni d’orchestra. ! “Donne e uomini trainarono carri Come buoi.” Liquore venduto Soltanto imballato. Tutta la notte Vento e ancora pioggia e freddo improvviso. ! Il lago continua a recedere; le ragazze Abbandonano la fede; passano le ore Mormoni. Coscienziosamente esaminiamo il calamaio d’oro Brigham Young’s (nel caso sul vetro si lasciassero impronte). ! San Francisco Accanto alla baia, osservatori penetrano Distanza su distanza, nube su nube, Pastelli di fumo che disegnano il blu del cielo Con richiami grigi. Ci fermiamo, allungati fianco a fianco, Salvi per un attimo dalla folla che sgomita, risate per la stranezza, e vecchi miti che crepitano nel braciere. ! Questi gioielli, essenze che abbiamo salvato, Oggetti di valore che ci tengono qui Dove il grido di gabbiano, la scia d’acqua, goccia di mare in ascolto Agitazione di memoria e amore, sono improvvisamente Sopravvissuti piccoli, chiari e permanenti. - Dobbiamo tornare indietro. I tuoi occhi sono specchi, stranamente seri. ! !10 THE SPEAKERS ! "A equals X," says Mister One. "A equals B," says Mister Two. "A equals nothing under the sun But A," says Mister Three. A few Applaud; some wipe their eyes; Some linger in the shade to see One and Two in neat disguise Decapitating Mister Three. ! "This age is not entirely bad." It's bad enough, God knows, but you Should know Elizabethans had Sweeneys and Mrs. Porters too. The past goes down and disappears, The present stumbles home to bed, The future stretches out in years That no one knows, and you'll be dead. !11 GLI ALTOPARLANTI ! “A è uguale a X,” dice Mister Uno. “A è uguale a B,” dice Mister Due. “A non è uguale a niente sotto il sole, ma soltanto ad A,” dice Mister Tre. Qualcuno Applaude; qualcuno stropiccia gli occhi; Alcuni indugiano nell’ombra per guardare Uno e Due in incognito Che decapitano Mister Tre. ! “Quest’epoca non è del tutto malvagia.” Lo è abbastanza, Dio lo sa, ma tu Dovresti sapere che l’età elisabettiana aveva Sweeneys ed anche Mrs. Porters. Il passato scende e sparisce, Il presente tentenna in casa a letto, Il futuro si estende in anni Che nessuno conosce, e tu sarai morto. ! !12 CORSAGE ! Mind's residue is vein-violet (old women with their stockings hanging down)-gorged with color and superb as light. "The spangled riddle is twitter and purr," the mussels murmured. Then departed. Of a evening, in the empty park, sometimes I hear the rustle of revival-meeting pamphlets. Band music, with surrealist trumpets, knifes the air. Eagles with tusks perform in sieves. The ectoplasm of Immanuel Kant unwittingly appears. ! These bilious things, fracturing the night's surface, swerve into graphs, hanging like crags in jagged lines: - profound, perfect, and not without meaning. ! ! !13 CORPETTO ! Residuo della mente viola vena (anziane donne con le loro calze penzoloni) rimpinzato di colore e superbo come luce. “Il lucente enigma cinguetta e fa le fusa,” mormorano le cozze. Poi partì. Di sera, nel parco vuoto, qualche volta sento il fruscio dei volantini al risveglio comune. Una banda, con trombe surrealiste, taglia l’aria. Aquile con le zanne si esibiscono in setacci. Compare involontariamente l’ectoplasma di Immanuel Kant. ! Queste cose biliari, che spezzano la superficie della notte, deviano in grafici, appese come falesie in linee frastagliate: - profonde, perfette, e non senza significato. ! !14 THE INQUIRY ! Do you wear a web over your wasted worth? I wear a web ! You fear the keyhole's splintered eye? I fear the eye ! Can you hear the worthless morning's mirth? I hear it ! The broken braying from whitening skies? Yes I hear it yes ! To spend the end and feed the fire Is day's insistence, night's demand: To pay the unrequested fare And wave the wavering wand. ! The street are full of broken glass, Sparkling in this frenzied noon. With naked feet and bandaged eyes You'll walk them-not just now, but soon. !15 L’INCHIESTA ! Indossi una ragnatela sopra il tuo valore consunto? Indosso una ragnatela ! Temi l’occhio del buco della serratura scheggiata? Temo l’occhio ! Riesci a sentire l’allegria del vile mattino? La sento ! Il raglio spezzato dai cieli che schiariscono? Sì lo sento sì ! Come consumare la fine e alimentare il fuoco È l’insistenza del giorno, la domanda notturna: Come pagare la tariffa non richiesta E ondeggiare la bacchetta ondeggiante. ! La strada è piena di vetri rotti, Che luccicano in questo frenetico mezzogiorno. A piedi nudi e occhi bendati Ci camminerai sopra - non subito, ma presto. ! !16 THE SITUATION CLARIFIED ! The frightened male library, Young, though no longer so very young, Exhibiting signs of incipient baldness, Gyrated most considerately Through all the latest books; was hung By wires, pulled from rafters by a man Who wore a striking wig and gave his name (When sternly questioned by the police) As Jones. "Jones is my name," he said. A note of unmistakable bitterness Creeping into his voice, Was singular. The whole affair Was hushed up more or less immediately. Pressure was brought to bear (So persons of unquestionable integrity Have testified) by an anonymous friend Of the Carnegie family. And thus Justice triumphed in the end, Though not until dear Mrs. Cudlip-Finch (Poor thing!) again experienced Recurring twinges of her old, forgotten pain In the duodenum. !17 LA SITUAZIONE CHIARITA ! Lo spaventato bibliotecario maschio, Giovane, tuttavia non più così giovane, Mostrando segni di calvizie incipiente, Che si aggirava con più premura Tra gli ultimi libri; venne appeso Da fili, tirati da un uomo sulle travi Che indossava una parrucca sorprendente e diede (Quando fu interrogato severamente dalla polizia) Come nome Jones. “Jones è il mio nome,” disse. Una nota d’inconfondibile amarezza Che strisciava nella sua voce, Era particolare. L’intera vicenda Fu messa a tacere più o meno immediatamente. La pressione è stata esercitata (Così le persone di indiscutibile integrità Hanno testimoniato) da un amico anonimo Della famiglia Carnegie. E così Giustizia trionfò alla fine, Anche se non fino alla cara Sig.ra Cudlip-Finch (Poverina!) che ha di nuovo l’esperienza Di fitte ricorrenti del suo vecchio, dimenticato dolore Duodenale. ! !18 VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY JOICE ! The war is in words and the wood is the world That turns beneath our rootless feet; The vines that reach, alive and snarled, Across the path where the sand is swirled, Twist in the night. The light lies flat.
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