party piece...

At the last big nosh-up at my place I read a few poems by Gertrude Stein that the Brazilian poet, translator, blogger, small press honcho and Simpoesia literary festival organizer Virna Teixeira had in her small press Arqueria's pamphlet That's Amore . Great to be reminded of the Stein poems, and it spurred me to quickly translate this poem by the contemporary Brazilian poet Angélica Freitas for the party. Appropriately enough, I had to lock myself in the bathroom to find the time to finish translating it.

In the Tub with Gertrude Stein

gertrude stein has a big bum move over gertrude
stein and when she moves over she makes a noise like
someone drawing a wet cloth over the enormous
glass pane of a public building

gertrude stein from here to there it’s you the flannel for washing
behind the ear is all yours from here to there it’s me the rubber ducky
is mine like that we’ll both be satisfied

but gertrude stein is a show-off she finds farting underwater
funny come on gertrude stein what about me? I can’t believe
someone gets such a kick out of making bubbles

and then because it’s her bath she pulls the plug and nicks
my towel

and leaves the house not wearing a stitch her bum enormous down
the stairs and into the streets of st.-germain-des-prés


By Angélica Freitas

Translated by Stefan Tobler