@dedreytnien – Vandal Poem of the Day

by Anne Kawala
(Trans. by Kit Schluter)

It’s nice out, it’s hot. The baby’s still sleeping. She listens to him, checks his breath, regular, touches his forehead, cool. The child is sitting, wrapped in pelts. Same gestures for him, her hand, then her lips, on his forehead. He shuts his eyes, opens them again—sleep? No. Not yet. Ok, I’m going to sleep for an hour, wake me up in an hour, the stars will be out. We’ll be able to find our way. Then you can sleep when it’s your turn. I’ll keep watch tonight. Ok. She lies down. She shuts her eyes. She falls asleep immediately. The child watches her. Déjà vu, but he’s learning again; to be able to fall asleep immediately. To sleep quickly, deeply. Her breath already slows. Already her eyes are moving under their lids. She dreams. She hasn’t eaten, she fell asleep, she’ll eat afterward, he’ll sleep afterward. Suddenly to do the most important thing. The most important thing. He doesn’t want to forget. He repeats to himself: The most important thing. To do suddenly the most important thing. How does she go about choosing the most important thing? To always choose the most important thing? How doesn’t she hesitate, when, suddenly, without hesitation, she is doing the most important thing? This, too, he mustn’t forget to ask her. How she does it. To ask her in a bit. When she wakes up. Before he falls asleep. To ask her. So she explains. So he knows. So he learns. The baby stirs, eyes shut. He pushes gently on the basket’s edge, gentle swaying, there there, gently rocking. In our legs. If it cracks, we’ll feel it there, in our legs. He focuses to see if he feels anything whatsoever. Nothing. The wind outside is blowing. Blowing less than a moment ago. When did it weaken? Before or after she fell asleep? He looks at his watch. 10:36pm. He’ll make note that, at 10:36pm, the wind weakened. Are they advancing less quickly now? Why didn’t she look and make a note right away on the map when she came back? The map is folded up, there, at her feet. Wasn’t the most important thing knowing where they were in order to know the speed at which they were drifting, and toward where? How many days can they hold up at sea if the ice patch breaks again?

from Screwball Find more by Anne Kawala at the library

by Anne Kawala
(Trans. by Kit Schluter)

It’s kicks in her legs that wake her up. It’s day out—high sun, cold. In the wind, the canvas of the tent claps. Kicks in her leg. The kid. With his heels, the kid hits her to wake her up. The huntress-gatheress sees Dzeta’s body, swollen with water, floating on the surface of the water contained by the raft. Her violet tongue hangs out of her mouth, her rolled up cheeks reveal her fangs and jaw, clenched. Kicking her legs, still. The fury on the kid’s face. She moves, crawls, drags herself over to him and starts to untie the knots imprisoning him. The kid’s hands are burning. Panic- stricken, the same fear as hers—a wave, the raft flipped over, to die now, drowned, he pulls on the ropes which, soaked, tauten. Unable to speak, unable to smack him to make him stop, she pauses her gesture. Lifts her hand, clenches her fist while looking him in the eye. He pants. Calms down. His knife. His serrated knife. Hooked to his belt, in its sheath. She checks around his waist, finds it, takes it out, cuts the straps, the kid’s wrists are free, now his arms. His last strength passed into his fear, dying drowned, tied up. He falls into the huntress-gatheress’ arms, his head against her neck, turns his face to the baby, whose eyes and mouth are closed. He shuts his eyes. He feels her push him away, clings to her, she sits him down, no longer holds him up, the effort of supporting him exhausts her, the raft pitches—drowned if he falls, he holds on. He opens his eyes. Sees her, from behind, open the crates. Dzeta floats, the purple of her tongue. He closes his eyes. Pitches. Opens. The huntress-gatheress is next to him, the waterproof pack, red, from the medical kit in her hands. She is feverish, tries to open it, shakes, needs antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, vitamins. Success. Needs water. She makes for the stern of the raft. From the water, emergency blankets in her hands, it pitches, comes back. She holds out the pills to the kid. He opens his hand, docile, closes it again, still. She pours some water into his mouth, he swallows, she slips the pills through his lips, she pours some water into his mouth, he swallows. When it’s her turn, she, water, pills, water. Swallows.

from ScrewballFind more by Anne Kawala at the library

Tag: @dedreytnien

“It’s nice out, it’s hot”

“It’s kicks in her legs that wake her up”