Road Work
“So,” she said, sipping tea from a Chinese oxblood cup,
“did anything good happen because of your divorce?”
“Well, my emotional palette is wider now. It includes
colors like,” I paused... “like that.” I pointed to the cup.
In southeast Winnemucca
bypass Route 7 connects
two segments of Route 2
I love you
and is resigned as Route 2
although Route 7 is never
erotically part of Route 2.
“Quite a price to pay for a palette. But I heard Munch’s
just went for $750,000 at Sotheby’s in London.”
“I heard that too. I think he used a color like oxblood
when he painted The Scream. I’m in better shape.”
Translator's Notes:
Q&A: Roadwork
Is the shape of the poem meant to resemble a cup?
No.
What can you tell us about the transition from the teatime conversation to the stanzas containing the information about erotic “road work?”
I started with two separate poems. Each felt thin. The first was straightforward but boring. The second, now the middle part, came from an e-mail I received which described a road with a bypass and issues of signage. The second poem seemed to be about the contrary nature of love and to belong with “teatime conversation,” as you put it.
Please tell us more about “oxblood.”
I have a gorgeous oxblood lamp, yet the name of the color is repulsive. Maybe the positive and the negative together embody the oppositions of this poem.
Source: Poetry (December 2011)