Fleurs du Mal Magazine
Or see the index
Poets’ portraits: Ivo van Leeuwen, 2013
Portret van Jasper Mikkers
Stadsdichter van Tilburg 2013 – 2015
©ivovanleeuwen
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: City Poets / Stadsdichters, Ivo van Leeuwen, Mikkers, Jasper
Gabriele D’Annunzio
(1863-1938)
Sopra un erotik
Voglio un amore doloroso, lento,
che lento sia come una lenta morte,
e senza fine (voglio che più forte
sia de la morte) e senza mutamento.
Voglio che senza tregua in un tormento
occulto sian le nostre anime assorte;
e un mare sia presso a le nostre porte,
solo che pianga in un silenzio intento.
Voglio che sia la torre alta granito,
ed alta sia così che nel sereno
sembri attingere il grande astro polare.
Voglio un letto di porpora, e trovare
in quell’ombra giacendo su quel seno,
come in fondo a un sepolcro l’Infinito.
Pace
Pace, pace! La bella Simonetta
adorna del fugace emerocàllide
vagola senza scorta per le pallide
ripe cantando nova ballatetta.
Le colline s’incurvano leggiere
come le onde del vento nella sabbia
del mare e non fanno ombra, quasi d’aria.
L’Arno favella con la bianca ghiaia,
recando alle Nereidi tirrene
il vel che vi bagnò forse la Grazia,
forse il velo onde fascia
la Grazia questa terra di Toscana
escita della casalinga lana
che fu l’arte sua prima.
Pace, pace! Richiama la tua rima
nel cor tuo come l’ape nel tuo bugno.
Odi tenzon che in su l’estremo giugno
ha la cicala con la lodoletta!
Voglio un amore doloroso di
Voglio un amore doloroso, lento,
che lento sia come una lenta morte,
e senza fine (voglio che più forte
sia della morte) e senza mutamento.
Voglio che senza tregua in un tormento
occulto sian le nostre anime assorte;
e un mare sia presso a le nostre porte,
solo, che pianga in un silenzio intento.
Voglio che sia la torre alta granito,
ed alta sia così che nel sereno
sembri attingere il grande astro polare.
Voglio un letto di porpora, e trovare
in quell’ombra giacendo su quel seno,
come in fondo a un sepolcro, l’infinito.
Gabriele D’Annunzio poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive A-B, D'Annunzio, Gabriele
Alfonsina Storni
(1892-1938)
A Madona Poesia
Aqui a tus pies lanzada, pecadora,
contra tu tierra azul, mi cara oscura,
tú, virgen entre ejércitos de palmas
que no encanecen como los humanos.
No me atrevo a mirar tus ojos puros
ni a tocarte la mano milagrosa;
miro hacia atrás y un río de lujurias
me ladra contra tí, sin Culpa Alzada.
Una pequeña rama verdecida
en tu orla pongo con humilde intento
de pecar menos, por tu fina gracia,
ya que vivir cortada de tu sombra
posible no me fue, que me cegaste
cuando nacida con tus hierros bravos.
.jpg){kind=small}
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive S-T, Storni, Alfonsina
John Keats
(1795–1821)
Ode to a nightingale
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
‘Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,
But being too happy in thine happiness,–
That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,
In some melodious plot
Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,
Singest of summer in full-throated ease.
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,
Tasting of Flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple-stained mouth;
That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,
And with thee fade away into the forest dim:
Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget
What thou among the leaves hast never known,
The weariness, the fever, and the fret
Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;
Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,
Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow
And leaden-eyed despairs,
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,
Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.
Away! away! for I will fly to thee,
Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,
But on the viewless wings of Poesy,
Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:
Already with thee! tender is the night,
And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,
Cluster’d around by all her starry Fays;
But here there is no light,
Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown
Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.
I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,
Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,
But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet
Wherewith the seasonable month endows
The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;
White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;
Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves;
And mid-May’s eldest child,
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.
Darkling I listen; and, for many a time
I have been half in love with easeful Death,
Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme,
To take into the air my quiet breath;
Now more than ever seems it rich to die,
To cease upon the midnight with no pain,
While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad
In such an ecstasy!
Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain–
To thy high requiem become a sod.
Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!
No hungry generations tread thee down;
The voice I hear this passing night was heard
In ancient days by emperor and clown:
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path
Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,
She stood in tears amid the alien corn;
The same that oft-times hath
Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.
Forlorn! the very word is like a bell
To toll me back from thee to my sole self!
Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well
As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf.
Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades
Past the near meadows, over the still stream,
Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:–Do I wake or sleep?
Ode aan een nachtegaal
Hartzeer en lome sufheid plaagt mijn geest,
Alsof ‘k een kerveldrank mij had bereid,
Of juist aan duffe opium was geweest
En was verzonken in vergetelheid:
‘t Komt niet door afgunst op jouw gunstig lot
Maar door te grote vreugd om jouw geluk, –
Dat jij, die vederlichte nimf van ‘t woud,
Vol melodiegenot
In ‘t schaduwrijke groen, zo druk
En zoetgevooisd een zomerzangfeest houdt.
O, gun mij een goede wijn! gekoeld bewaard
Diep in de grond, in jaren niet verzet,
Smakend naar Flora en de groene gaard,
Dans, Provençaalse zang, en zonnepret!
O, dat vol zuiderwarmte een glas hier stond,
Vol blozende en ware Hippocreen,
Met luchtbelkraaltjes glinsterend aan de rand,
En paars-gevlekte mond;
Dat ik mij laafde en uit het zicht verdween,
Met jou vervaagd in ‘t schimmig bomenland:
Vervaagd naar ver, versmolten, en gans kwijt
Wat tussen ‘t groen jij nooit hebt opgemerkt:
De sleur, de onrust en de narigheid
Alhier, waar men elkaars gekreun verwerkt;
Waar ziekte ‘t laatste, arm, grijs haar aantast,
Waar – ‘n bleke, magere schim – de jongen sterft;
Waar ‘t denken zelf al leidt tot diepe zorgen
En wanhoop’s loden last,
Waar ‘t oog van Schoonheid snel haar schittering derft,
Of nieuwe Liefd’ haar niet begeert na morgen.
Naar ver! naar ver! want ‘k volg jouw melodie,
Niet weggekard door Bacchus’ luipaard-span,
Maar op de blinde wiek der Poëzie,
Hoewel het trage brein dwarsliggen kan:
Teer is de nacht, bij jou daar in ‘t verschiet!
En ook, door al haar sterren-feeën omringd,
Zit op haar vorstentroon tevree de Maan;
Licht is híer echter niet,
Behalve wat uit hemelbriezen blinkt
Op somber groen en ‘t mos der slingerlaan.
Ik heb geen zicht op bloemen aan mijn voet,
Of welke wierook aan de takken hangt,
Maar raad in ‘t donker elk welriekend zoet
Dat bosje, vruchtboom wild, en gras ontvangt,
Geschonken door het passend jaargetij;
Rustieke egelantier en haagdoorn wit;
Viooltjes, snel verwelkt, door blad omhuld;
En ‘t oudste kind van Mei,
De muskusroos, waar nevelwijn in zit,
Op ‘n zomernacht met vlieggezoem gevuld.
In ‘t duister luister ik; en ik heb vaak
De Dood, die kalm maakt, half verliefd gekust,
Liefkoosde hem ook vaak met dichtersspraak,
Om lucht te geven aan mijn ademrust;
Nu meer dan ooit schijnt mij het sterven rijk,
Een middennachtelijk einde, vrij van pijn,
Terwijl jouw ziel zich uitstort uit ‘t gewas
En hoe hartstochtelijk!
Dan zong jij door: mijn oor zou nietig zijn –
En bij jouw requiem was ik wat gras.
Eeuwige Vogel! boreling vrij van dood;
Geen hongerbende ondermijnt jouw lot;
De stem die mij dit nachtuur heeft genood
Hoorde vanouds de keizer en de zot:
Misschien dezelfde zang die toegang vond
Tot ‘t droeve hart van Ruth, van heimwee ziek,
In tranen tussen ‘t vreemde koren staand;
Dezelfde die ‘t bestond
Vensters te openen, magisch met muziek,
Naar zeeschuim wild, in ‘n eens betoverd land.
Betoverd! juist het woord dat als een klok
Van jou mij terugluidt enkel naar mijzelf!
Vaarwel! De illusie mist de toverstok
Vaak toegedicht aan die misleidende elf.
Vaarwel! vaarwel! Jouw klaaglied vlucht ook al
Langs weiden hier, over de stille stroom,
De heuvel op, heeft nu een duik gemaakt
Diep in het volgend dal:
Was het een visioen, of wakkere droom?
Weg is het lied: – Slaap ik of ben ‘k ontwaakt?
Vertaling: Cornelis W. Schoneveld
Uit: Bestorm mijn hart, de beste Engelse gedichten uit de 16e-19e eeuw gekozen en vertaald door Cornelis W. Schoneveld, tweetalige editie. Rainbow Essentials no. 55, Uitgeverij Maarten Muntinga, Amsterdam, 2008, 296 pp, € 9,95 ISBN: 9789041740588
Bestorm mijn hart bevat een dwarsdoorsnede van vier eeuwen lyrische Engelse dichtkunst. Dichters uit de zestiende tot en met de negentiende eeuw dichter onder andere over liefde, natuur, dood en religie. Niet alleen de Nederlandse vertaling is in deze bundel te vinden, maar ook de originele Engelse versie. Deze prachtige bloemlezing, met gedichten van onder anderen Shakespeare, Milton, Pope en Wordsworth, is samengesteld en vertaald door Cornelis W. Schoneveld. Hij is vele jaren docent historische Engelse letterkunde en vertaalwetenschapper aan de Universiteit van Leiden geweest.
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive K-L, John Keats, Keats, Keats, John
Hendrik Marsman
(1899-1940)
Doodstrijd
Ik lig zwaar en verminkt in een hoek van de nacht,
weerloos en blind: ik wacht
op de dood die nu eindelijk komen moet.
het paradijs is verbrand: ik proef roet,
dood, angst en bloed.
ik ben bang, ik ben bang voor de dood.
ik kan hem niet zien,
ik kan hem niet zien,
maar ik voel hem achter mij staan.
hij is misschien rakelings langs mij gegaan.
hij sluipt op zware geruisloze voeten onzichtbaar
achter het leven aan.
hij is weergaloos laf:
hij valt aan in de rug;
hij durft niet recht tegenover mij staan;
ik zou zijn schedel te pletter slaan.
ik heb nu nog, nu nog, een wild ontembaar
verlangen naar bloed.
Ontwaken
Ik lig nog te bed in de blinkende morgen
en hoor in mijn hart en daarbuiten het ruisen der nieuwe zee,
reuken en blijde geluiden
en de bloeiende geuren der kruiden
vervliegend als schuim in het zonlicht
en op de wind drijft het mee.
nu is er rust en een wijdheid vol nieuwe kracht;
voor mijn vertwijfeling en mijn stoutmoedigste droom
een onpeilbaar heelal:
water, zonlicht en gletschers
en ook bij nacht de kristallen
der glinsterende eeuwige sneeuw.
en hier – aan mijn zijde – het dal:
als de zachte gebogen kust van een klein en sluimerend meer;
zie hoe hij zich vouwt
in de bocht van een tere
en onuitputlijke droom.
.jpg)
Hendrik Marsman poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive M-N, Marsman, Hendrik
Karl Kraus
(1874-1936)
Dichterschule
Was sind denn das für ausgelassne Knaben,
die in der Form ein Nichtgenügend haben?
Sie machen heute sichs wie ehedem
in Fleiß und Sitten immerzu bequem,
die nur im Fortgang von der Schule glänzen.
Und froh, daß sie die Syntax nicht beherrschen,
so wetzen sie auf ungegerbten Ärschen
und lassen hier und dort das Komma aus.
Dann aber tragen sie ein Nichts nachhaus,
das sie zuhaus zu einem Dreck ergänzen.
Heißt man zur Strafe sie dada zu bleiben,
und ihren Aufsatz zweimal abzuschreiben,
und besten Falles fällt es ihnen ein,
daß sie ihn noch beklecksen und betrenzen.
Kein Substantiv steht mehr an seinem Platze,
der Hauptsatz wird zu einem Nebensatze,
der Nebensatz ist nur ein Adjektiv.
Die ganze Gottesschöpfung lacht sich schief,
wenn solch ein grüner Lümmel singt von Lenzen.
Hier wirkt Natur in andern Dimensionen,
in solchem Wirrsal wollt’ kein Teufel wohnen,
nichts was sie greifen, wächst zur Wortgestalt.
Allein ihr Ethos freilich ist geballt
und sehr dynamisch sind die Impotenzen.
Ein Rattenschwanz im gegenseitigen Loben,
wenn sie in allezu freien Rhythmen toben;
mit uns geht alles bei dem Treiben rund!
Doch schließen sie zumeist den Vers mit Und.
Und dennoch geht es über alle Grenzen.
Sehr mir die Rotte von den letzten Bänken,
sie wollen nur den Oberlehrer kränken,
der schwergeprügelt in solcher Klasse sitzt.
Was sie nicht konnten, haben sie verschwitz.
O laßt uns diese Dichterschule schwänzen!
1920
Karl Kraus poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive K-L, Kraus, Karl
.jpg)
E u g e n e M a r a i s
(1871-1936)
Don Quixote
Na A. von Chamisso
Nog ‘n avontuur
wat my roem beloof!
Sien jy al dié reuse,
klaar om weer te roof?
Toringhoog, misgeskape;
as jy vinnig kyk,
is dit of die rakkers
net soos meules lyk!
Met verlof, heer Ridder,
kyk hulle stip maar aan.
Dit is blote meules,
wat daar draaiend staan.
Sien jy, arme domkop,
gapend waar jy staan,
al die ongediertes
vas vir meules aan?
Oogverblindery
mag ‘n Kneg bedrieg,
maar ‘n edel Ridder
kan g’n Reus belieg.
Met verlof, heer Ridder,
glo my dit is waar,
net opregte meules
op die bultjie daar!
Beef, jy, vette lafaard?
Dit is klaar en hel,
stryd met sulke skepsels
is net kinderspel!
Een teen almal – daag ek,
vol van riddermoed!
Netnou drink die aarde
al jou ketterbloed!
Ag, my liewe Ridder,
glo my tog dié keer!
Meules is dit waarlik;
ek kan dit besweer!
“Soetste Dulcinea!
Bron van al my hoop!”
– En die brawe ridder
druk sy ros op loop;
storm af op die eerste
met die lans gemik –
en oorrompel stort hy
in die stof verstik.
Leef jy, edele Ridder?
Ek het jou gesê –
net so seker Meules
as jy nou daar lê!
Vra jy my miskien –
– soos baie mense meer –
was dit werklik reuse
soos die Baas beweer?
Of net blote Meules
glo ek met die Kneg?
Gee ek onbedenklik
onse Ridder reg?
Met die heer ooreenstem
is die kloekste kreet.
Wat van sulke dinge
kan ‘n Kneg tog weet?
Eugene Marais poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive M-N, Marais, Eugène
Renée Vivien
(1877–1909)
The Touch
The trees have kept some lingering sun in their branches,
Veiled like a woman, evoking another time,
The twilight passes, weeping. My fingers climb,
Trembling, provocative, the line of your haunches.
My ingenious fingers wait when they have found
The petal flesh beneath the robe they part.
How curious, complex, the touch, this subtle art—
As the dream of fragrance, the miracle of sound.
I follow slowly the graceful contours of your hips,
The curves of your shoulders, your neck, your unappeased breasts.
In your white voluptuousness my desire rests,
Swooning, refusing itself the kisses of your lips.
Renée Vivien poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive U-V, Renée Vivien, Vivien, Renée
A n i t a B e r b e r
Gedicht für Sebastian Droste
I c h
Wachs schimmerndes Wachs
Ein Kopf – ein Brokatmantel
Wachs –
Rot – wie Kupfer so rot und lebende Haare
Funkelnde Haare wie heilige Schlangen und Flammen
Tot
Millionenmal tot
Verwest
Und schön – so schön
Blut wie fliessendes Blut
Ein Mund stumm
Nacht ohne Sterne und Mond
Die Lider – so schwer
Schnee wie kalter wärmende Schnee
Ein Hals – und fünf Finger wie Blut
Wachs wie Kerzen
Ein Opfer von ihm
S e b a s t i a n D r o s t e
Gedicht für Anita Berber
Tanz Anita zu eigen
Aufwirbelndes jauchzendes Begehren
Sprung – – –
Webenden Wellen
Weichwelle Wogen
Kreist kreist unendliche Kreise – – –
Verlangendes Weben schwebt wellwoges Wogen
Auf einsamen Thronen thront der Gott – –
Sturzwelles spitzes grelles Begehren
Kreisgelles gelbgrünes Belachen
Zerkreisen zerwellen zerwogen zerhauchen
Springpflanzartiges Zerblättern
Beschwingen
Besingen
Klang –
Aufjublendes Zerfliessen
Zergreifen
Zerweben – –
Tanz – – –
Anita Berber (1899-1928)
& Sebastian Droste (1892-1927):
2 Gedichte
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Anita Berber, Anita Berber, Berber, Anita, DANCE & PERFORMANCE
Edith Södergran
1892-1923
Der Schmerz
Das Glück hat keine Lieder, das Glück hat keine Gedanken,
das Glück hat nichts.
Stoß an dein Glück, daß es zerbricht, denn das Glück ist boshaft.
Das Glück kommt sacht wie das Säuseln des Morgens in
das schlafende Gebüsch,
das Glück gleitet vorbei wie leichte Wolken über dunkelblaue Tiefen,
das Glück ist wie das Feld, das in der Mittagsglut schläft
wie die endlose Weite des Meeres in den heißen lotrechten Strahlen,
das Glück ist machtlos, es schläft und atmet und weiß
von nichts …
Kennst du den Schmerz? Er ist stark und groß mit
geballten Fäusten.
Kennst du den Schmerz? Er lächelt hoffnungsvoll mit
verweinten Augen.
Der Schmerz gibt uns alles, was wir brauchen.
er gibt uns die Schlüssel zum Reich des Todes,
er schiebt uns durch die Pforte, wenn wir noch zaudern.
Der Schmerz tauft das Kind und wacht mit der Mutter
und schmiedet all die goldenen Hochzeitsringe.
Der Schmerz herrscht über alle, er glättet die Stirn des Denkers,
er legt den Schmuck um den Hals der begehrten Frau,
er steht in der Tür, wenn der Mann von der Geliebten kommt …
Was ist es noch, was der Schmerz seinen Lieblingen gibt?
Ich weiß nichts mehr.
Er gibt Perlen und Blumen, er gibt Lieder und Träume,
er gibt tausend Küsse, die alle leer sind,
er gibt den einzigen Kuß, der wirklich ist.
Er gibt uns unsere sonderbaren Seelen und merkwürdigen Einfälle,
er gibt uns allen Lebens höchsten Gewinn:
Liebe, Einsamkeit und das Angesicht des Todes.
Edith Södergran poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Archive S-T, Södergran, Edith
.jpg)
Marcel Proust
(1871-1922)
Petit pastiche de Mme de Noailles
Mon coeur sage, fuyez l’odeur des térébinthes,
Voici que le matin frise comme un jet d’eau.
L’air est un écran d’or où des ailes sont peintes ;
Pourquoi partiriez-vous pour Nice ou pour Yeddo ?
Quel besoin avez-vous de la luisante Asie
Des monts de verre bleu qu’Hokusaï dessinait
Quand vous sentez si fort la belle frénésie
D’une averse dorant les toits du Vésinet !
Ah ! partir pour le Pecq, dont le nom semble étrange,
Voir avant de mourir le Mont Valérien
Quand le soigneux couchant se dispose et s’effrange
Entre la Grande Roue et le Puits artésien.
.jpg)
Marcel Proust poetry
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Marcel Proust, Proust, Marcel
James Joyce
(1882-1941)
Counterparts
The bell rang furiously and, when Miss Parker went to the tube, a furious voice called out in a piercing North of Ireland accent:
“Send Farrington here!”
Miss Parker returned to her machine, saying to a man who was writing at a desk:
“Mr. Alleyne wants you upstairs.”
The man muttered “Blast him!” under his breath and pushed back his chair to stand up. When he stood up he was tall and of great bulk. He had a hanging face, dark wine-coloured, with fair eyebrows and moustache: his eyes bulged forward slightly and the whites of them were dirty. He lifted up the counter and, passing by the clients, went out of the office with a heavy step.
He went heavily upstairs until he came to the second landing, where a door bore a brass plate with the inscription Mr. Alleyne. Here he halted, puffing with labour and vexation, and knocked. The shrill voice cried:
“Come in!”
The man entered Mr. Alleyne’s room. Simultaneously Mr. Alleyne, a little man wearing gold-rimmed glasses on a cleanshaven face, shot his head up over a pile of documents. The head itself was so pink and hairless it seemed like a large egg reposing on the papers. Mr. Alleyne did not lose a moment:
“Farrington? What is the meaning of this? Why have I always to complain of you? May I ask you why you haven’t made a copy of that contract between Bodley and Kirwan? I told you it must be ready by four o’clock.”
“But Mr. Shelley said, sir—-“
“Mr. Shelley said, sir …. Kindly attend to what I say and not to what Mr. Shelley says, sir. You have always some excuse or another for shirking work. Let me tell you that if the contract is not copied before this evening I’ll lay the matter before Mr. Crosbie…. Do you hear me now?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you hear me now?… Ay and another little matter! I might as well be talking to the wall as talking to you. Understand once for all that you get a half an hour for your lunch and not an hour and a half. How many courses do you want, I’d like to know…. Do you mind me now?”
“Yes, sir.”
Mr. Alleyne bent his head again upon his pile of papers. The man stared fixedly at the polished skull which directed the affairs of Crosbie & Alleyne, gauging its fragility. A spasm of rage gripped his throat for a few moments and then passed, leaving after it a sharp sensation of thirst. The man recognised the sensation and felt that he must have a good night’s drinking. The middle of the month was passed and, if he could get the copy done in time, Mr. Alleyne might give him an order on the cashier. He stood still, gazing fixedly at the head upon the pile of papers. Suddenly Mr. Alleyne began to upset all the papers, searching for something. Then, as if he had been unaware of the man’s presence till that moment, he shot up his head again, saying:
“Eh? Are you going to stand there all day? Upon my word, Farrington, you take things easy!”
“I was waiting to see…”
“Very good, you needn’t wait to see. Go downstairs and do your work.”
The man walked heavily towards the door and, as he went out of the room, he heard Mr. Alleyne cry after him that if the contract was not copied by evening Mr. Crosbie would hear of the matter.
He returned to his desk in the lower office and counted the sheets which remained to be copied. He took up his pen and dipped it in the ink but he continued to stare stupidly at the last words he had written: In no case shall the said Bernard Bodley be… The evening was falling and in a few minutes they would be lighting the gas: then he could write. He felt that he must slake the thirst in his throat. He stood up from his desk and, lifting the counter as before, passed out of the office. As he was passing out the chief clerk looked at him inquiringly.
“It’s all right, Mr. Shelley,” said the man, pointing with his finger to indicate the objective of his journey.
The chief clerk glanced at the hat-rack, but, seeing the row complete, offered no remark. As soon as he was on the landing the man pulled a shepherd’s plaid cap out of his pocket, put it on his head and ran quickly down the rickety stairs. From the street door he walked on furtively on the inner side of the path towards the corner and all at once dived into a doorway. He was now safe in the dark snug of O’Neill’s shop, and filling up the little window that looked into the bar with his inflamed face, the colour of dark wine or dark meat, he called out:
“Here, Pat, give us a g.p.. like a good fellow.”
The curate brought him a glass of plain porter. The man drank it at a gulp and asked for a caraway seed. He put his penny on the counter and, leaving the curate to grope for it in the gloom, retreated out of the snug as furtively as he had entered it.
Darkness, accompanied by a thick fog, was gaining upon the dusk of February and the lamps in Eustace Street had been lit. The man went up by the houses until he reached the door of the office, wondering whether he could finish his copy in time. On the stairs a moist pungent odour of perfumes saluted his nose: evidently Miss Delacour had come while he was out in O’Neill’s. He crammed his cap back again into his pocket and re-entered the office, assuming an air of absentmindedness.
“Mr. Alleyne has been calling for you,” said the chief clerk severely. “Where were you?”
The man glanced at the two clients who were standing at the counter as if to intimate that their presence prevented him from answering. As the clients were both male the chief clerk allowed himself a laugh.
“I know that game,” he said. “Five times in one day is a little bit… Well, you better look sharp and get a copy of our correspondence in the Delacour case for Mr. Alleyne.”
This address in the presence of the public, his run upstairs and the porter he had gulped down so hastily confused the man and, as he sat down at his desk to get what was required, he realised how hopeless was the task of finishing his copy of the contract before half past five. The dark damp night was coming and he longed to spend it in the bars, drinking with his friends amid the glare of gas and the clatter of glasses. He got out the Delacour correspondence and passed out of the office. He hoped Mr. Alleyne would not discover that the last two letters were missing.
The moist pungent perfume lay all the way up to Mr. Alleyne’s room. Miss Delacour was a middle-aged woman of Jewish appearance. Mr. Alleyne was said to be sweet on her or on her money. She came to the office often and stayed a long time when she came. She was sitting beside his desk now in an aroma of perfumes, smoothing the handle of her umbrella and nodding the great black feather in her hat. Mr. Alleyne had swivelled his chair round to face her and thrown his right foot jauntily upon his left knee. The man put the correspondence on the desk and bowed respectfully but neither Mr. Alleyne nor Miss Delacour took any notice of his bow. Mr. Alleyne tapped a finger on the correspondence and then flicked it towards him as if to say: “That’s all right: you can go.”
The man returned to the lower office and sat down again at his desk. He stared intently at the incomplete phrase: In no case shall the said Bernard Bodley be… and thought how strange it was that the last three words began with the same letter. The chief clerk began to hurry Miss Parker, saying she would never have the letters typed in time for post. The man listened to the clicking of the machine for a few minutes and then set to work to finish his copy. But his head was not clear and his mind wandered away to the glare and rattle of the public-house. It was a night for hot punches. He struggled on with his copy, but when the clock struck five he had still fourteen pages to write. Blast it! He couldn’t finish it in time. He longed to execrate aloud, to bring his fist down on something violently. He was so enraged that he wrote Bernard Bernard instead of Bernard Bodley and had to begin again on a clean sheet.
He felt strong enough to clear out the whole office singlehanded. His body ached to do something, to rush out and revel in violence. All the indignities of his life enraged him…. Could he ask the cashier privately for an advance? No, the cashier was no good, no damn good: he wouldn’t give an advance…. He knew where he would meet the boys: Leonard and O’Halloran and Nosey Flynn. The barometer of his emotional nature was set for a spell of riot.
His imagination had so abstracted him that his name was called twice before he answered. Mr. Alleyne and Miss Delacour were standing outside the counter and all the clerks had turn round in anticipation of something. The man got up from his desk. Mr. Alleyne began a tirade of abuse, saying that two letters were missing. The man answered that he knew nothing about them, that he had made a faithful copy. The tirade continued: it was so bitter and violent that the man could hardly restrain his fist from descending upon the head of the manikin before him:
“I know nothing about any other two letters,” he said stupidly.
“You–know–nothing. Of course you know nothing,” said Mr. Alleyne. “Tell me,” he added, glancing first for approval to the lady beside him, “do you take me for a fool? Do you think me an utter fool?”
The man glanced from the lady’s face to the little egg-shaped head and back again; and, almost before he was aware of it, his tongue had found a felicitous moment:
“I don’t think, sir,” he said, “that that’s a fair question to put to me.”
There was a pause in the very breathing of the clerks. Everyone was astounded (the author of the witticism no less than his neighbours) and Miss Delacour, who was a stout amiable person, began to smile broadly. Mr. Alleyne flushed to the hue of a wild rose and his mouth twitched with a dwarf s passion. He shook his fist in the man’s face till it seemed to vibrate like the knob of some electric machine:
“You impertinent ruffian! You impertinent ruffian! I’ll make short work of you! Wait till you see! You’ll apologise to me for your impertinence or you’ll quit the office instanter! You’ll quit this, I’m telling you, or you’ll apologise to me!”
He stood in a doorway opposite the office watching to see if the cashier would come out alone. All the clerks passed out and finally the cashier came out with the chief clerk. It was no use trying to say a word to him when he was with the chief clerk. The man felt that his position was bad enough. He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr. Alleyne for his impertinence but he knew what a hornet’s nest the office would be for him. He could remember the way in which Mr. Alleyne had hounded little Peake out of the office in order to make room for his own nephew. He felt savage and thirsty and revengeful, annoyed with himself and with everyone else. Mr. Alleyne would never give him an hour’s rest; his life would be a hell to him. He had made a proper fool of himself this time. Could he not keep his tongue in his cheek? But they had never pulled together from the first, he and Mr. Alleyne, ever since the day Mr. Alleyne had overheard him mimicking his North of Ireland accent to amuse Higgins and Miss Parker: that had been the beginning of it. He might have tried Higgins for the money, but sure Higgins never had anything for himself. A man with two establishments to keep up, of course he couldn’t….
He felt his great body again aching for the comfort of the public-house. The fog had begun to chill him and he wondered could he touch Pat in O’Neill’s. He could not touch him for more than a bob — and a bob was no use. Yet he must get money somewhere or other: he had spent his last penny for the g.p. and soon it would be too late for getting money anywhere. Suddenly, as he was fingering his watch-chain, he thought of Terry Kelly’s pawn-office in Fleet Street. That was the dart! Why didn’t he think of it sooner?
He went through the narrow alley of Temple Bar quickly, muttering to himself that they could all go to hell because he was going to have a good night of it. The clerk in Terry Kelly’s said A crown! but the consignor held out for six shillings; and in the end the six shillings was allowed him literally. He came out of the pawn-office joyfully, making a little cylinder, of the coins between his thumb and fingers. In Westmoreland Street the footpaths were crowded with young men and women returning from business and ragged urchins ran here and there yelling out the names of the evening editions. The man passed through the crowd, looking on the spectacle generally with proud satisfaction and staring masterfully at the office-girls. His head was full of the noises of tram- gongs and swishing trolleys and his nose already sniffed the curling fumes punch. As he walked on he preconsidered the terms in which he would narrate the incident to the boys:
“So, I just looked at him — coolly, you know, and looked at her. Then I looked back at him again — taking my time, you know. ‘I don’t think that that’s a fair question to put to me,’ says I.”
Nosey Flynn was sitting up in his usual corner of Davy Byrne’s and, when he heard the story, he stood Farrington a half-one, saying it was as smart a thing as ever he heard. Farrington stood a drink in his turn. After a while O’Halloran and Paddy Leonard came in and the story was repeated to them. O’Halloran stood tailors of malt, hot, all round and told the story of the retort he had made to the chief clerk when he was in Callan’s of Fownes’s Street; but, as the retort was after the manner of the liberal shepherds in the eclogues, he had to admit that it was not as clever as Farrington’s retort. At this Farrington told the boys to polish off that and have another.
Just as they were naming their poisons who should come in but Higgins! Of course he had to join in with the others. The men asked him to give his version of it, and he did so with great vivacity for the sight of five small hot whiskies was very exhilarating. Everyone roared laughing when he showed the way in which Mr. Alleyne shook his fist in Farrington’s face. Then he imitated Farrington, saying, “And here was my nabs, as cool as you please,” while Farrington looked at the company out of his heavy dirty eyes, smiling and at times drawing forth stray drops of liquor from his moustache with the aid of his lower lip.
When that round was over there was a pause. O’Halloran had money but neither of the other two seemed to have any; so the whole party left the shop somewhat regretfully. At the corner of Duke Street Higgins and Nosey Flynn bevelled off to the left while the other three turned back towards the city. Rain was drizzling down on the cold streets and, when they reached the Ballast Office, Farrington suggested the Scotch House. The bar was full of men and loud with the noise of tongues and glasses. The three men pushed past the whining matchsellers at the door and formed a little party at the corner of the counter. They began to exchange stories. Leonard introduced them to a young fellow named Weathers who was performing at the Tivoli as an acrobat and knockabout artiste. Farrington stood a drink all round. Weathers said he would take a small Irish and Apollinaris. Farrington, who had definite notions of what was what, asked the boys would they have an Apollinaris too; but the boys told Tim to make theirs hot. The talk became theatrical. O’Halloran stood a round and then Farrington stood another round, Weathers protesting that the hospitality was too Irish. He promised to get them in behind the scenes and introduce them to some nice girls. O’Halloran said that he and Leonard would go, but that Farrington wouldn’t go because he was a married man; and Farrington’s heavy dirty eyes leered at the company in token that he understood he was being chaffed. Weathers made them all have just one little tincture at his expense and promised to meet them later on at Mulligan’s in Poolbeg Street.
When the Scotch House closed they went round to Mulligan’s. They went into the parlour at the back and O’Halloran ordered small hot specials all round. They were all beginning to feel mellow. Farrington was just standing another round when Weathers came back. Much to Farrington’s relief he drank a glass of bitter this time. Funds were getting low but they had enough to keep them going. Presently two young women with big hats and a young man in a check suit came in and sat at a table close by. Weathers saluted them and told the company that they were out of the Tivoli. Farrington’s eyes wandered at every moment in the direction of one of the young women. There was something striking in her appearance. An immense scarf of peacock-blue muslin was wound round her hat and knotted in a great bow under her chin; and she wore bright yellow gloves, reaching to the elbow. Farrington gazed admiringly at the plump arm which she moved very often and with much grace; and when, after a little time, she answered his gaze he admired still more her large dark brown eyes. The oblique staring expression in them fascinated him. She glanced at him once or twice and, when the party was leaving the room, she brushed against his chair and said “O, pardon!” in a London accent. He watched her leave the room in the hope that she would look back at him, but he was disappointed. He cursed his want of money and cursed all the rounds he had stood, particularly all the whiskies and Apolinaris which he had stood to Weathers. If there was one thing that he hated it was a sponge. He was so angry that he lost count of the conversation of his friends.
When Paddy Leonard called him he found that they were talking about feats of strength. Weathers was showing his biceps muscle to the company and boasting so much that the other two had called on Farrington to uphold the national honour. Farrington pulled up his sleeve accordingly and showed his biceps muscle to the company. The two arms were examined and compared and finally it was agreed to have a trial of strength. The table was cleared and the two men rested their elbows on it, clasping hands. When Paddy Leonard said “Go!” each was to try to bring down the other’s hand on to the table. Farrington looked very serious and determined.
The trial began. After about thirty seconds Weathers brought his opponent’s hand slowly down on to the table. Farrington’s dark wine-coloured face flushed darker still with anger and humiliation at having been defeated by such a stripling.
“You’re not to put the weight of your body behind it. Play fair,” he said.
“Who’s not playing fair?” said the other.
“Come on again. The two best out of three.”
The trial began again. The veins stood out on Farrington’s forehead, and the pallor of Weathers’ complexion changed to peony. Their hands and arms trembled under the stress. After a long struggle Weathers again brought his opponent’s hand slowly on to the table. There was a murmur of applause from the spectators. The curate, who was standing beside the table, nodded his red head towards the victor and said with stupid familiarity:
“Ah! that’s the knack!”
“What the hell do you know about it?” said Farrington fiercely, turning on the man. “What do you put in your gab for?”
“Sh, sh!” said O’Halloran, observing the violent expression of Farrington’s face. “Pony up, boys. We’ll have just one little smahan more and then we’ll be off.”
A very sullen-faced man stood at the corner of O’Connell Bridge waiting for the little Sandymount tram to take him home. He was full of smouldering anger and revengefulness. He felt humiliated and discontented; he did not even feel drunk; and he had only twopence in his pocket. He cursed everything. He had done for himself in the office, pawned his watch, spent all his money; and he had not even got drunk. He began to feel thirsty again and he longed to be back again in the hot reeking public-house. He had lost his reputation as a strong man, having been defeated twice by a mere boy. His heart swelled with fury and, when he thought of the woman in the big hat who had brushed against him and said Pardon! his fury nearly choked him.
His tram let him down at Shelbourne Road and he steered his great body along in the shadow of the wall of the barracks. He loathed returning to his home. When he went in by the side- door he found the kitchen empty and the kitchen fire nearly out. He bawled upstairs:
“Ada! Ada!”
His wife was a little sharp-faced woman who bullied her husband when he was sober and was bullied by him when he was drunk. They had five children. A little boy came running down the stairs.
“Who is that?” said the man, peering through the darkness.
“Me, pa.”
“Who are you? Charlie?”
“No, pa. Tom.”
“Where’s your mother?”
“She’s out at the chapel.”
“That’s right…. Did she think of leaving any dinner for me?”
“Yes, pa. I –“
“Light the lamp. What do you mean by having the place in darkness? Are the other children in bed?”
The man sat down heavily on one of the chairs while the little boy lit the lamp. He began to mimic his son’s flat accent, saying half to himself: “At the chapel. At the chapel, if you please!” When the lamp was lit he banged his fist on the table and shouted:
“What’s for my dinner?”
“I’m going… to cook it, pa,” said the little boy.
The man jumped up furiously and pointed to the fire.
“On that fire! You let the fire out! By God, I’ll teach you to do that again!”
He took a step to the door and seized the walking-stick which was standing behind it.
“I’ll teach you to let the fire out!” he said, rolling up his sleeve in order to give his arm free play.
The little boy cried “O, pa!” and ran whimpering round the table, but the man followed him and caught him by the coat. The little boy looked about him wildly but, seeing no way of escape, fell upon his knees.
“Now, you’ll let the fire out the next time!” said the man striking at him vigorously with the stick. “Take that, you little whelp!”
The boy uttered a squeal of pain as the stick cut his thigh. He clasped his hands together in the air and his voice shook with fright.
“O, pa!” he cried. “Don’t beat me, pa! And I’ll… I’ll say a Hail Mary for you…. I’ll say a Hail Mary for you, pa, if you don’t beat me…. I’ll say a Hail Mary….”
James Joyce stories
fleursdumal.nl magazine
More in: Joyce, James, Joyce, James
Thank you for reading Fleurs du Mal - magazine for art & literature