Translated by Clayton Eshelman & Annette Smith. Published by University Press of Virginia in Lyric and Dramatic Poetry: 1946–82. Published originally in French by Editions du Sueill as part of moi, laminaria…
(some typographical elements present in the original poem are absent here due to Medium’s text formatting)
***
disorder organizes itself into an appraiser of hills
under the surveillance of high-heeled trees
merciless toward any muzzle
less rigorous than a buffalo’s
it
the id swallows ruminates digests
i know shit (and its quadrature)
but shit
on zealous wings let the griffin vulture beak feed
the nonscrupulous stall-fattening
i have no heart for it
false the dream however peremptory the rounds
on this side at least
all the sun stored on the wrong side of disaster
exudes
for
intact eye of the storm
aurora
ozone
orogenic zone
through some of the words obsessing a torpor
and the welcome and awakening of each one of our hurts
i enunciate you
FANON
you scratch the iron
you scratch the bars of the jail
you scratch the gaze of the torturer
flint warrior
vomited
through the mangrove swamp serpent’s snout
