September 21, 2016Istovitu Works the Nightshift
when we were little
my brother istovitu and i would go out
in the moonlight
and pray for our mother to return
from the other world
istovitu works the nightshift
i the dayshift
this way we can swap
our women between us
their eyelids are sewn shut
they pour milk on their faces
and curl up
until the next day
at dawn the moon
goes back to its room
we watched our toenails grow
no doubt we were born dead
we took care that the sun
shouldn’t catch us out in the fields
that the coins wouldn’t drop
out of our mouths
we led a carefree life
we were seven
we dreamt we’d run away to america
Translated from Romanian by Adam J. Sorkin and Diana Manole
from #52 - Summer 2016