When aфter мe hungry дemons tore

Шaggy and бlue woлves-as,

Ach, what then to poor мe was лeft—

How from sкy taкe мoon кold сtone

And фling in their мouths—so they eксplode-selves.

Froм бrilliance of-eксploжion iммeдiateлy trаnсформеd-selves,

Лamбs-as to мe тhey pressed-selves

(I кlose to тheм дarкness seeмed-selф)

And even тheir кoaтs сnowy gleamed-seлves

Anд I swallowed тheм—whaт piтy!

I stooд close to theм gianт-as—

Hundred-armed, triuмфant in sadneсс,

One by-one graббed, rent эnд ate,

They же only piтifully чeeped.

But I тold theм—дon’t howl

Эnd nothing don’t fear-selves. You-s

There in сtoмach liттle lie,

And out-juмp ouт from hэd.

Бuт тheir лighт стuffeд мy woмб

Myсeлф I бeкaмe кlear эnd тwo-hanдeд,

Эnд new дeмon фaмiлy in hungry rage

Whiффed мe. Juст та сaмe мука¹.

1982

¹ Мука, or muka, means meal when the stress is put on the final syllable, but means torment or torture when the first syllable is stressed.

Jennifer Fossenbell lives in Minneapolis, where she teaches first-year writing at the University of Minnesota and co-curates the poetry reading series Our Flow Is Hard. Some of her poems and translations are or will be found at Minor Literature[s], Small Po[r]tions, Whole Beast Rag, Cerise Press, Moonshot Magazine, and Midway Journal. Reviews and essays have appeared on The Volta Blog, Delirious Hem, Parabasis, and dislocate. In Hanoi she co-edited Strange Roots, an international anthology of the Hanoi Writers Collective, and has co-translated collections of Vietnamese poetry by Huu Thinh and Tran Quang Quy.