1122: Kitchen Accidents | Perihan Magden
"Kitchen Accidents"
Perihan Magden
translated by Ebru Diriker
Turn the dials. Turn them all the way up.
But that towel is clean. Never mind.
An unfortunate princess on it.
Wet the towel. The unfortunate princess is crying.
Tuck it under the door.
What a small kitchen!
How did we ever fit in all these years? They and I together.
I’m fed up. Very bored.
Yesterday. That day. On the holiday.
Canning season. Pickles. Rains.
Dust. Dust. Kitchen cloth.
On the shopping list. This wasn’t there.
Hey, princess! I found you in
the sales. But, God knows, I did love you.
Not a single day did I leave you unironed.
Cold fish swim in your eyes.
“We set up the throne, the rest is fortune,” you say
and it suits you well Mama.
I never liked that saying. Like many
other things you say.
The sore on my left index finger
keeps throbbing. Hot water
does it no good. I know.
The stairs are rising. So am I on the stairs.
My stairship. String the ocean.
Hang it around my neck. I seem to be real cold.
I am climbing the stairs.
My arms darken.
My eyes sink into me
My gas stairs. The stairs of gas.
Run away. Away. Run. Run. Runnn.
A way. Way. A.
Perihan Magden
translated by Ebru Diriker
Turn the dials. Turn them all the way up.
But that towel is clean. Never mind.
An unfortunate princess on it.
Wet the towel. The unfortunate princess is crying.
Tuck it under the door.
What a small kitchen!
How did we ever fit in all these years? They and I together.
I’m fed up. Very bored.
Yesterday. That day. On the holiday.
Canning season. Pickles. Rains.
Dust. Dust. Kitchen cloth.
On the shopping list. This wasn’t there.
Hey, princess! I found you in
the sales. But, God knows, I did love you.
Not a single day did I leave you unironed.
Cold fish swim in your eyes.
“We set up the throne, the rest is fortune,” you say
and it suits you well Mama.
I never liked that saying. Like many
other things you say.
The sore on my left index finger
keeps throbbing. Hot water
does it no good. I know.
The stairs are rising. So am I on the stairs.
My stairship. String the ocean.
Hang it around my neck. I seem to be real cold.
I am climbing the stairs.
My arms darken.
My eyes sink into me
My gas stairs. The stairs of gas.
Run away. Away. Run. Run. Runnn.
A way. Way. A.