Devil’s Lunch

Devil’s Lunch

A thorn is enough for him.

An apple made of iron.

The nipple of a girl who paces her home

wearing only a cotton slip.

An ear of a pig is enough.

The bug crawling between two empty dishes.

The child puffing into a dandelion.

The withered limbs of an old woman

on her deathbed.

The limbs of a young woman

waiting for her lover

with one hand on her breast

and the other on her lips.

What he eats for lunch

he vomits for dinner

into a rose bush,

or under a Christmas tree.

(Translated by Charles Simic)