Janez Ramoveš

One sunny day I was ridin my bike

and up on the windin lanes I met em,

a young girl was walkin ahead of the rest,

she lookt like she was expectin.

They were deckt out in their Sunday clothes,

the ladders leanin against a beehouse,

are yu comin with us, they hollerd,

or yu gonna wait by yaself at home.

White silk shirts is what they were wearin,

but the collars all were greasy,

a couple had rifles over their shoulders,

an some of em they had been drinkin.

Down the lane they went towards the tracks,

they were movin along pretty quickly,

haulin suitcases of plastic flowers,

down below the train was waitin.

Yuhuhu, yuhuhu, yuhuhu.

Yuhuhu.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

The first were a coupla horses.

Then came ten cows,

then some calves

and lambs,

then came a nabor.

Then a cow

and a calf,

and another nabor,

and his son,

and a whole lotta hollerin after em.

Then a third nabor,

and he was drivin some goats

and he had a scythe

for maybe trimmin some of the slope.

Then came our cows,

and our sheep and our goats,

and me

I was a-whoopin

cuz I had a napsack full of

schnapps and sausages.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

I brot yu a hen,

I chopt her head off meself,

I pluckt her meself,

and cleand out er guts. She still

had a whole buncha eggs

up in er egg tube.

Have em fix yu up a soup with er, so yull get better.

Well now I ll be goin.

Well now I gotta go.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

So has even god abandond yu or somethin?

Are ya eyes burnin yu any?

Empty eyes like that have gotta burn.

Somethin shows if the souls so broken,

somethins just gotta show.

Somethin shows if a dream stops itchin at yu.

Bloody blisters turn inta calluses.

Or bedsores.

Could be yu paid a little too much for memries.

Watch out nobody falls off the scaffold.

Bloated legs like that aint made for

scaffoldin. Yu could get yaselves killd

if the fits come on yu.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

Dog tracks

cross the graveyard

and its buried in drool,

or what if thats tears,

for sure thats tears.

Callin out into emptiness

just makes the room more empty.

And what if the voice breaks,

o god, what if the echo breaks,

for sure its gotta break.

What if the voice ices up

into a dog voice,

what if it gleams with sharp doggy teeth,

what if the voice was sometimes a prayer,

or what if it was a cry for help,

yeah for sure it hadta be a cry for help.

What if it swallowd up the friendly words,

what if promises were paperd in it,

or coffins, or crates of munitions,

yeah for sure.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

Outside everythins in bloom.

I lie in my bed and sing.

And already its evenin.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

He musta really lovd yu.

On ya wooden leg

he drew some flowers.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

Shoulders bare, the two of em walkt by,

real slow, like winter wasnt never gonna come,

wet birds settled on the freshwasht meadow,

they ll rest themselves some, and then fly off,

the second hay some of it was left unmown,

for sure the farmer musta died.

For sure the tractor musta crusht him,

or he shot himself at the table,

bang, right in the head,

the moped for sure must still be at the tavern.

Seems real likely tha that one theres his daughter,

seems likely its Janis.

Translated by Rawley Grau.

Frogs are crawlin

up the oak logs.

With cut-off legs.

Translated by Rawley Grau.