At the Edge of Time - Pierre Reverdy

The stems of the sun bent over the eye
             The sleeping man
The whole of the earth
             And this head heavy with fear
In the night
This complete hole
                         Vast
And even so streaming with water
The noise
           The peals of little bells mingled with the
               Clinking of glasses
                    And bursts of laughter
The head moves
On the carpet the body shifts
And turns over the warm spot
               At the slipping feet of the animal
It’s that they’re waiting
                          For the summons of the shock
And the signal of the eyelid
The ray relaxes
                          Sleep
                                      Light
And what is left shines at the edge of the white rock

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Pierre Reverdy (1889 – 1960) France
Translated by Lydia Davis