It's Finally Been Confirmed

It's finally been confirmed Camels can pass through the slender eye of a needle. With surprising ease they'vemet the challenge Christ hurled at them.Christ hadn't noticed how enormously skillful camels are. And the saddest thing is thattheyalone find total salvation and monopolize it,no one else. Once camels pass through thebody of theneedle, theystretchout, shake off thedust, clean theirhooves, crack their knuckles, call for a newspaper, coffee, a drink, a redemptive cigar, thedove ofpeace, and amnesty foreverybody. We've got toadmit, notwithout a certaindistress, that they've reallypulled the wool over our eyes and it'sall Christ's fault,because ofhis angelical good faith. Now everything is so confused, so disturbing. Our bosomy buddies are his beloved, likeSenyora Justiciaand SenyoraWhatsita. Everywhere you findhis representatives armed or with a cross or dressed in black to scare thehell out ofus and theyall instilla dismal weariness thatrunnethus over fromdawn todusk. Some self-assured camels, afterslipping into tails, shoot us a grin, letus snifftheflower in theirbuttonhole give us work and dole out Christmas bonuses. Insecure camels, on the other hand, tend to scowl, give kicks and get theirhumps up. Rumor has it that even among themselves they're not so buddy-buddy. They're all on the move, ina hurry, theyplay pranks, get on each other's nerves, join forces, quarrel, arm themselves, disarm, wage wars, grant amnesties, declare truces, make myths, swindle, colonize, kill thenatives, emancipate. And then theycutdeals. Lastnight Last night, I'm sure of it, awoman in thebuff hiding along the coast abruptly abandoned herself to thehunger of the sea bream. The crack ofdawn saw thecliff and sand littered with cork floats, gold rings and various trinkets from an uncertain dynasty. Through the stilldense mist, the moon beat a hasty retreat and the mullets, all aglow, couldn't fathom how to take cover. Translations from the Catalan By LawrenceVenuti Editorial note: From Obra poetica, 1959-1983, copyright? 1987 by theheirs ofMiquel Bauca and Grup Editorial 62, S.L.U., Editorial Emp?ries September-October 2009 i45

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