you enter these neukölln forests
in may when the night is perennial
and subtle gold rains from the trees
the winged creatures that inhabit them
know three words only

[drunk
dance
i love You]

but in all languages

le notti perenni a neukölln che piangono oro
sottile e le creature alate che le abitano
conoscono tre parole soltanto ma in ogni
lingua del mondo

common insomnias compare to insomnias in this place
like gray compares to mother of pearl
come il grigio sta al madreperla
the city fills you with dry flowers of such perfection
that sleep is impossible

nell’istante del sonno la cittá ti riempie di fiori secchi

and of tattoos so beautiful
they reveal the ancestral stupor in the faces of all things
and the thread that connects the rose and its opposite

e tatuaggi cosí belli da far
intravedere lo stupore ancestrale sul viso delle cose
e i fili tesi tra una rosa e il suo contrario