I Wouldn’t Want to Be You on That Day
You’re as inescapable as a reef in a river,
You plunge everyone into rack and ruin;
The reins of heaven in your hands,
The power of emptiness in your lips;
And seeing you once, a guy can’t get off his knees,
You’re as precise as Proust and graceful as a deer;
But there’ll be a day and you’ll forget what a “screw” is,
And I wouldn’t want to be you on that day.
I love to watch how you make your verdict
Astride a zinc bucket.
Your enemies flee,
You’re Bonaparte in his courtyard;
Maybe you’ll enlighten them, show them the difference between night and day,
Maybe you’ll show mercy, when to put them to death will be lazy.
But there’ll come a day a church-porch beggar will toss you tuppence,
And I wouldn’t want to be you on that day.
Blind snipers sing your hymn,
While you sleep under their table;
Inhumanly simple Is your star, Shalom.
Your eagles are always on the watch as they eat from you hands;
Your wells are deep
Your pockets wide;
But there’ll be a day and children will wonder:
“What does the word ‘home’ mean?”
And I wouldn’t want to be you on that day.
Pro forma prose translation for forthcoming album review.