The Basement Trains Quotes

“English:

Ô, take this eager dance you fool,
don’t brandish your stick at me.
I have several reasons to travel on,
on to the endless sea:
I have lost my love. I’ve drunk my purse.
My girl has gone, and left me rags to sleep upon.
These old man’s gloves conceal the hands with which I’ve killed but one!

Francais:

Idiot, prends cette danse ardente, au lieu de tendre ton bâton.
J'en ai des raisons de voyager encore sur la mer infinie:
J'ai perdu l'amour et j'ai bu ma bourse.
Ma belle m'a quitté, j'ai ses haillons pour m'abriter.
Mes gants de vieillard cachent les mains d'un fameux assassin!”
― Roman Payne, The Basement Trains: A 21st Century Poem

“We rode the basement trains all night, speeding through the subterrains. I held her chin in the cup of my hand and her eyes held tight to mine, imploring me to reveal to her the mystery of that which awaits us on the pavement above, come the day we ascend from this labyrinth of trains... 'We will ride these beautiful basement trains forever,' said I, 'nothing awaits us; and as your beauty folds, so do my dreams. Come, my love, let us wander these tunnels of the endless city. This holy, endless city!”
― Roman Payne, The Basement Trains: A 21st Century Poem