Luciano Erba
La Grande Jeanne
It made no difference to la Grande Jeanne
whether they were French or English
so long as they had hands
the way she liked them
she inhabited the port, her brother
was working with me
in 1943.
When she saw me at Lausanne
walking by in summer clothes
she told me I could save her
and that her world was there, in my hands
and my teeth which had eaten hare in high mountains.
At heart
la Grande Jeanne would have liked
to become a respectable lady
she had a hat already
broad, blue, and with three turns of tulle.
whether they were French or English
so long as they had hands
the way she liked them
she inhabited the port, her brother
was working with me
in 1943.
When she saw me at Lausanne
walking by in summer clothes
she told me I could save her
and that her world was there, in my hands
and my teeth which had eaten hare in high mountains.
At heart
la Grande Jeanne would have liked
to become a respectable lady
she had a hat already
broad, blue, and with three turns of tulle.
Translated by Peter Robinson
Page(s) 63
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