116. Talk to Him

You might not understand her

You might not understand her
Because she is a woman and she is sleeping

You might not understand her
Because she is a woman and she is sleeping
And she is dreaming of the man who is making love to her

You might not understand her
Because she is a woman and she is sleeping
And she is dreaming of the man who is making love to her
And she hears him say

La vida es muy cara, querida

And he repeats himself

La vida es muy cara, querida

It is a soft sound
The sound of his voice
And it is the sound of a void
The sound of a man already dead

Life prepares and death exceeds
The priests had it right
It all lines up
In time and place
One fact after another

She lies there asleep
Surrounded by commas
And he is already dead
So he speaks to her softly

If the snow would gather quietly
At the lowest seam of the door
That would be the sound of his voice
And he would be explaining her his day

Though he is already dead

Because he is dead
He can tell her

An action moves in a phalanx
Whether intended or not
Even the smallest movement leads
To consequences only the dead understand

You might not understand her
Because she is asleep in her bed
Because she is leaping through clouds
Because she’s thrown out the first baseball

Because she’s the prettiest girl

You might not understand her
Because she is a woman and naked under the sheets
And her breasts rest heavy on her chest
Which rises before it falls
Which fills before it empties itself
Of wordless air
Because she is asleep when he speaks

She sleeps while he speaks
And what she says is

Where are you man who speaks to me?
Why are you speaking?
Why are you asking me to wake?
Why are you telling me to wake?
I must sleep a little while longer
I must sleep a little longer still

And even if he says nothing
And even if the man who is making love to her
And even if the man who is dead and making love to her says nothing
He still tells her

I love you
I saw this at the ballet today
You are a beautiful woman even when you’re asleep
And you’re asleep all the time
I am the father of your child
But your child is dead
My seed lies within you
But our child is dead
I bought us this bed
Though you sleep all the time
So I could sleep beside you
So I could sleep inside you
And dream that you had woken
And dream that you had woken
To find me alive

But she is asleep
As you might remember
So all she can say
To the man making love to her
Is

Where is my child?
Who are my lover?
Why is it dark?
When will I wake?
How did you know?

So she sleeps on her back
And she dreams not a dream
And she sleeps through the black
And never can scream

Because she sleeps through the day
And she sleeps through the night
And she never has met
The man who is dead
The man who’s within her
The man who is fucking her beautiful body
As she sleeps through the night
As she sleeps through the day
And never can dream a man out of sleep
And never can dream a son out of sleeping

So the man who is fucking
So the man who is fucking her beautiful body
Says to her softly
Says to her quietly

Our son is a gymnast
Our daughter a dance
They live in your body
They hope for a chance
But you are still sleeping
And I am still dead
And nothing is all
That ever I’ve said

And he says to her finally
In a voice full of sorrow

La vida es tuya
La muerte es mio
Tú eres mi hambre
Tu hambre es todo

Tengo hambre
Tienes hambre
Tenemos hambre sin cesar

And that’s the whole story

You might not understand her
Because she is a woman and she is sleeping

And you might not understand him
Because he is dead