Place
Hors-série 2 - septembre 2019 /
Special issue 2 - September 2019
Jan Baetens
MY LIFE TO LIVE
III.
NANA’S THROWN OUT OF HER FLAT
SHE LIVES IN THE STREET.
The first few days,
in the evening,
she still goes back to the flat,
which watches her;
both
as if prepared for war,
A silent-flash.
Noises
are innocent—hopscotch, cat, cobblestone.
The gate
opens like
a guillotine. Is
combat
engaged? Quietly,
the concierge’s son restrains
restrains Nana,
who cries in vain.
Order is tentatively restored.
The house does
not want
a woman though young and
pretty who
doesn’t pay her
rent. She’ll become a prostitute, then.
She’ll only manage
to salvage
some semblance of her coiffure.
<=
ARCHIVES