21 Short Poems or The Gun
.
*
There is a gun in the closet.
There are many things in the closet.
*
An extremely small man
may ride on a gun
like a horse,
a black horse.
*
If a monster with seven heads
stood at the gate,
I would shoot without hesitation,
but the open gate
scares me.
*
The judge always acquits the gun.
Naïve judge.
*
I had an unforgettable face
and a white gun.
*
A gun isn’t a metaphor.
*
My uncle has two guns
My uncle has a basement in Givatayim
My uncle has a life.
*
My gun
loves people.
*
The bullet sings its little song
in the air, a simple song.
*
The contours of the gun are imaginary.
*
The song of the gun
is
a wordless song.
*
This time the gun is aimed at us.
At our live flesh.
At our beating arteries.
At our ridiculous faith in what is called life.
We say: a gun is absurd.
And we’re sure that by saying this sentence,
composed of four words,
we have undone the threat.
*
I hand out (cheap) pens, guns
and towels.
All are useful.
*
The guns sell out quickly in the stores.
The saleswomen are horrified.
This city stinks.
*
This gun makes a hole in my head.
*
It is possible to give up carrying guns
and writing poems.
*
A gun without questions.
A gun without answers.
*
It’s a pretty lie.
If you shoot it,
you will wipe out the lie,
and memorialize its beauty.
Such beauty will be an eternal witness
to your cruelty and good taste.
*
The hand shakes.
The hand smiles.
*
Tonight is the mouth of a gun
we stare into
dully and stupidly
after we are shot.
*
Lovely gun.
.
by Hezy Leskly
from Be`er halav beh-emtza ir
publisher Am Oved, Tel Aviv, 2009
Translation: Lisa Katz 2013