Homage to René Magritte

When Magritte died
     The stones fell to the ground
     The birds divorced their leaves
     The night and day agreed to differ
     The breasts became blind
     The cunt was struck dumb
     The tubas extinguished their flames
     The pipe remembered its role
     The words looked up what they meant in the dictionary
     The clouds turned abstract
     The ham closed its eye for ever
When Magritte died.

When Magritte died
     The toes hid modestly in their shoes
     The mountains no longer envied their eagles
     The apple shrunk to the size of an apple
     Or did the room grow to the size of a room?
     The bowler hat lost its ability to astonish
     The old healer
     Returned from a dip in the sea
     Put on his trousers
          his boots
          his cloak
          his hat
     Picked up his stick
          his sack
          his cage of doves [clanging its door to]
     And set off on his banal journey

When Magritte died.

Text: George Melly - Surrealist Poetry in English [excerpt]

Music: Caetano Veloso - Cucurrucucú Paloma [live]

Posted by robert at April 29, 2003 11:24 PM