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Issue 14 • Summer 2005 • Featured Lodestar Writer • Poetry
Jean Sénac,
translated from the French by Justin VicariBut You
But you, Jacques, you talked to me about light in words that were not a jail cell.
I come from the labyrinth dragging broken wings. Ariadne,
Those were the eons she worked and reworked in horror
Overseen by the godasses, borne along by inches on a litter of lice
Right up to Theseus' window.
O Jaaacques, with agate balls
And yesses of saeta, you wove me a raft for all of Asia.
Et voila! -- here I am
The leper, the rabid.
But scratch scratch, you tell me, like a dog.
Hidden underneath one always finds the rose.
The dogrose but the rose nonetheless!
Next Page:
Torrid (page 12 of 18 pages)
All Pages: See all the poems on one page
Table of Contents: The Myth of the Mediterranean Sperm
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Jean Sénac was a teacher, soldier, and writer. He was the author of numerous collections of poems, including Citoyens de beauté and Jubilation, and one novel, Ébauche du père: pour en finir avec l'enfance. Following the Algerian revolution, he worked in the Ministry of Education in Algeria and for Radio-Algiers with a daily program, Poésie sur tous les fronts. He was the founder of the magazines Soleil, Terrasses, and cofounder of Galery 54. He was murdered, possibly because of his political beliefs, in August 1973 in Algiers. More information (in French): French Wikipedia: Jean Sénac.
Justin Vicari's work appears or is forthcoming in Interim, Rhino, Eclipse, Slant, Spillway, Gin Bender Poetry Review, Poetry Motel, Third Coast, Disquieting Muses Quarterly, Softblow, and other reviews. He is the author of chapbooks "In a Garden of Eden" (Plan B Press) and "Woman Bathing Light to Dark" (forthcoming from Toad Press, 2006). In 2005, one of his poems was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
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Go To:
Issue 14 or Lodestar Quarterly home page
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