Julie Sevigny

“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

“Women writers make for rewarding (and efficient) lovers. They are clever liars to fathers and husbands; yet they never hold their tongues too long, nor keep ardent typing fingers still.”
― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy

“Be there a picnic for the devil,
an orgy for the satyr,
and a wedding for the bride.”
― Roman Payne, The Basement Trains: A 21st Century Poem

“It’s not that we have to quit
this life one day, but it’s how
many things we have to quit
all at once: music, laughter,
the physics of falling leaves,
automobiles, holding hands,
the scent of rain, the concept
of subway trains... if only one
could leave this life slowly!”
― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy