lost in thought

it is becoming increasingly obvious from the nightly harvest of my trigger-happy mate's camera that there is something on my mind. in almost every photograph, i look either pensive or preoccupied. i wanted to share, but couldn't find the words (yet), so i decided to use those of a master. tried my best with the translation. there is another one here. and then there is the irreplaceable original.


The non-proposal

my love, let's not, for mercy’s sake,
point at Cupid’s throat
his own arrow
so many lovers have tried it
who have had to pay with their happiness
for this sacrilege…

i have the honour
of not asking for your hand in marriage
let us not inscribe
our names at the bottom
of some parchment

let’s leave the bird a free hand
we will both of us be prisoners
on parole
the devil take the mistress chefs
who pin hearts to the handles
of pots and pans

i have the honour
of not asking for your hand in marriage
let us not inscribe
our names at the bottom
of some parchment

Venus often grows old
she loses her bearings
when faced with a dripping pan
at no price would i ever wish
to throw the petals of daisies
into the stew

i have the honour
of not asking for your hand in marriage
let us not inscribe
our names at the bottom
of some parchment

it might perhaps seem restful
to put away
at the bottom of a jam pot
the pretty forbidden apple
but it is cooked, and it has lost
its freshly-picked taste

i have the honour
of not asking for your hand in marriage
let us not inscribe
our names at the bottom
of some parchment

you can kill much of their charm
by revealing too far the secrets
of Melusine
the ink of love letters fades fast
between the pages of cooking books

i have the honour
of not asking for your hand in marriage
let us not inscribe
our names at the bottom
of some parchment

i don't need a servant
and i release you from
housekeeping and its cares
so that, eternal fiancee,
of you, lady of my choice,
always, i will think.

i have the honour
of not asking for your hand in marriage
let us not inscribe
our names at the bottom
of some parchment