The towers of Notre-Dame

By Jacques Roubaud
Translated by Claire Nashar.

when by chance I come upon

                  the towers of Notre-Dame

                  unlike Tristan Derème

                  who

                  coming upon the Towers of Saint-Sulpice

                  pissed

against them

I mediate

a meditation quasi

modal in nature,

esméraldine almost, hugoesque you might say,

sitting in the public garden

behind

the reverend clouds turn away

the pigeons gargoyle the japanese tourists photodigitize themselves

in front of it

closed by gates the more-or-less-abandoned-garden

where three little black cats drink

the good white milk of Catholic

France

they belong to his Grace

(lustiger)

later they will climb among your weather vanes

o masterpiece of gothic art!

Click here to listen to Jacques Roubaud reading this poem in French on Lyrikline.org.