I can't sleep. Every time I doze off, the traffic light outside changes, and the cars screech to a halt or start up and I wake up. I can't read-- After an hour I clench my fist, whispering why didn't I stay home where things are silent and familiar and everyone sleeps the same hours I do. But here! In this motel, sheets stiff and scratchy, air stuffy, he lies beside me smelling of wine, not bothered by the traffic outside. He snarls periodically, "Will you shut up that whining." This is how I always see him--on his terms-- noisy motels by traffic lights and the sinister desk clerk downstairs. Nothing falls in place. I lie sobbing by the man I love because we are so alien.
Two Poems by Nellie Hill
Song Cycle by Christopher Berg (b. 1949)
1. Boyfriend  [sung text checked 1 time]
Authorship:
- by Nellie Hill , "Boyfriend", appears in Astrolabes, first published 1975, copyright © by Nellie Hill, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Go to the single-text view
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Boyfriend", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.
2. Selling Techniques  [sung text checked 1 time]
He loves to watch himself standing naked before the mirror doing business on the telephone. Each action is deliberate: he bows and smiles while speaking to his customers as if he's dealing with himself. His minor flaws don't bother him, the pot belly, the baggy chin, he looks right over them to the powerful swagger he's developed, the commanding sweep of his arm. She loves to watch him. She lies there on the bed, her hands folded on the pillow behind her head, and she smiles at his act; and then she joins him, her long skinny body next to his fat one, the telephone between them. He continues talking, selling someone something, while she imitates every bow in the mirror, every sweeping motion.
Authorship:
- by Nellie Hill , "Selling Techniques", appears in Having Come This Far, first published 1977, copyright © by Nellie Hill, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Go to the single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]IMPORTANT NOTE: The material directly above is protected by copyright and appears here by special permission. If you wish to copy it and distribute it, you must obtain permission or you will be breaking the law. Once you have permission, you must give credit to the author and display the copyright symbol ©. Copyright infringement is a criminal offense under international law.