Don Juan in Amsterdam

“e to allor li prega Per quell' amor the i mena, e quei verranno.” INFERNO V This also is a place that love is known in, This hollow land beneath a lifeless sea Opposite to the place that he was born in, How far it is impossible to say. The brackish water as I crossed A bridge was delicately creased And stained and stale, like love-disordered linen. Lovers here must meet on unsure ground Like strangers in a circumspect hotel Which, although luxurious and grand, Trembles beneath their feet like earth in hell. Lifted on concentric gales Scraps of paper, leaves and gulls Fluttered dismally aloft and groaned. Here darkness grows and light itself decays; Rain falls from time to time and night falls too Upon earth’s civil centre that decoys The eternal with the promise that is now. There were no corners, every street Ran on infinite and straight, There is no gate, no warning and no keys. I hear a step approaching and refuse To look aside, a while your silhouette Persists, the fire illuminates your face From under as you light a cigarette; All-knowing, arch-angelic eyes, Human features cut in ice— The spark you struck at once attained the fuse. I recognize the vanity and scorn, The fear, the greed, in short the mask of love, Familiar and disdainful, and I turn About. Like children sharing what they have We learned in that experiment What the spirit’s weakness meant, The nature of the torment to be borne. What shall I give you? What will be your price? Your body’s mine, the rich, fantastic horde Of your embracements—angels live on praise, Take it, it is all I can afford. Outside a centrifugal wind Sustained a freight of souls that whined And wept along the terrible canals. And when I close my eyes I see a ship At anchor in the water of a bay. I cling to that imaginary shape Capable of taking me away To I do not know what ports. Perhaps tomorrow it departs, Anonymous, invulnerable, free.