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Poetry Library Southbank Centre - The Poetry Library housing the Arts Council Collection at Southbank Centre

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Rui Knopfli

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Ballad of the Young Rebels

Damn! Told off by the boss again.
On the corner the loutish gang
of mediocrities. We are the mediocrities,
the guys who loiter on the corner,
time passing us by.
With our long sideburns, our blue jeans
and strident laughter. At the office
invoices and figures. Coming between them
the soft solicitation of dark thighs.
The hint of an aggressive breast under the blue dress.
A mistake on the invoice, being told off
by the boss. Forget about
the tragedies on roads
tragedies in shacks
hungry people, people
suffering indigestion from cocktail snacks, belching
caviar and champagne.
Forget about the studied gesture
of nervous fingers running through hair. Short jackets
and leather bracelets. We loiter
on the corner. Boisterous laughter.
“Rock a bye baby, blue
and sentimental.” Heels
tapping the ground, on the corner.
Life passing in the street
right beside us. We, the dialectic
of short jackets and long sideburns.
“Hey, guys, how about some black tail?”

Translated by Suzette Macedo

Page(s) 193-194

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