Charles Bernstein

From the Basque

Ears are poppin' everybody's dancin'
to the Andalusiana.
Ax, bat, delirious bobbing especially
establishes gulled surfeit.

O like a leaky bear's Bar Mitzvah
intent on owning, egging, lurking
Anxious bickering surely taps ballistic!
As the gauze errata neutralizes.

------------------------------------------------------

from a Basque newspaper, provided by Jack Collom:

Eragozpena aundiya dezu
ta da aundienetakua.
Auxe, bai, dala gaurko egunian
estali gabe zulua

Olaku leku biar biarrezkuan
izenbat on ona egin leiken,
antxen bilduta zuri ta beltzak!
Ez da gauz erraza neurtzen.

 

from Olaku Leku Biar or A Leak on His Coffee-Colored Beret: Mistranslations from the Basque,
ed. Jack Collom (printed by ed. 1993, same copies reissued by Baksum Books (Boulder, CO, 2015)