Mr. Apollinax¡Oh qué novedad! ¡Por Hércules, qué paradojas!
¡Qué hombre ocurrente!
Luciano
Cuando Mr. Apollinax visitó los Estados Unidos
su risa tintineó entre las tazas de té.
Yo pensé en Fragilion, esa tímida imagen entre los abedules,
y en Priapo entre los arbustos,
boquiabierto ante la dama del columpio.
En el palacio de Mrs. Phlaccus, en casa del profesor Channing-Cheetah,
se reía como un feto irresponsable.
Su risa era submarina y profunda
como la del viejo del mar
oculto bajo islas de coral
donde afligidos cuerpos de ahogados derivan en silencio verde,
cayendo desde dedos de oleaje.
Esperé ver la cabeza de Mr. Apollinax rodar bajo una silla.
O haciendo muecas sarcásticas sobre un biombo
con algas en el pelo.
Oí el galopar de cascos de centauros por la dura pista
en tanto que su seca y apasionada plática devoraba la tarde.
"Es un hombre encantador." "¿Pero que quiso decir después de todo? -
"Sus orejas en punta... Debe estar chiflado."
"Dijo algo a lo cual podría haberme opuesto."
De Mrs. Phlaccus, respetable matrona, y del profesor y Mrs. Cheetah
recuerdo una rodaja de limón y una pasta de almendras mordida.
[1915]
T. S. Eliot (St. Louis, 1888-Londres, 1965), Retrato de una dama y otros poemas. Versión y notas de Alberto Girri y Enrique Pezzoni, Ediciones Corregidor, Buenos Aires, 1983
Mr. Apollinax
Ω της καινοτητος 'Ηρακλεις, της παραδοξολογιας ευμηχανος ανθρωπος.
Luciano
WHEN Mr. Apollinax visited the United States / His laughter tinkled among the teacups. / I thought of Fragilion, that shy figure among the birch-trees, / And of Priapus in the shrubbery / Gaping at the lady in the swing. / In the palace of Mrs. Phlaccus, at Professor Channing-Cheetah’s / He laughed like an irresponsible foetus./ His laughter was submarine and profound / Like the old man of the sea’s / Hidden under coral islands /Where worried bodies of drowned men drift down in the green silence, / Dropping from fingers of surf. / I looked for the head of Mr. Apollinax rolling under a chair // Or grinning over a screen / With seaweed in its hair. / I heard the beat of centaur’s hoofs over the hard turf / As his dry and passionate talk devoured the afternoon. / “He is a charming man”—“But after all what did he mean?”— / “His pointed ears…. He must be unbalanced,”— / “There was something he said that I might have challenged.” / Of dowager Mrs. Phlaccus, and Professor and Mrs. Cheetah / I remember a slice of lemon, and a bitten macaroon.
Ilustración: Figuras tomando el té, Juan Battle Planas
T. S. Eliot (St. Louis, 1888-Londres, 1965), Retrato de una dama y otros poemas. Versión y notas de Alberto Girri y Enrique Pezzoni, Ediciones Corregidor, Buenos Aires, 1983
Mr. Apollinax
Ω της καινοτητος 'Ηρακλεις, της παραδοξολογιας ευμηχανος ανθρωπος.
Luciano
WHEN Mr. Apollinax visited the United States / His laughter tinkled among the teacups. / I thought of Fragilion, that shy figure among the birch-trees, / And of Priapus in the shrubbery / Gaping at the lady in the swing. / In the palace of Mrs. Phlaccus, at Professor Channing-Cheetah’s / He laughed like an irresponsible foetus./ His laughter was submarine and profound / Like the old man of the sea’s / Hidden under coral islands /Where worried bodies of drowned men drift down in the green silence, / Dropping from fingers of surf. / I looked for the head of Mr. Apollinax rolling under a chair // Or grinning over a screen / With seaweed in its hair. / I heard the beat of centaur’s hoofs over the hard turf / As his dry and passionate talk devoured the afternoon. / “He is a charming man”—“But after all what did he mean?”— / “His pointed ears…. He must be unbalanced,”— / “There was something he said that I might have challenged.” / Of dowager Mrs. Phlaccus, and Professor and Mrs. Cheetah / I remember a slice of lemon, and a bitten macaroon.
Ilustración: Figuras tomando el té, Juan Battle Planas
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