Josefka

Josef K, to the ear a feminine diminutive,
His own babcia, baba, babka, perhaps.
Waits patiently in the cobbled street,
Ignoring the dragon that smiles like a cat.

As, next door, the glow from the radio
warms the already ocherous hue, suffused
With amber tints. The gramophone
Doesn't play, the telephone won't ring.

But this is good: a room in which
Technology, as the art of mechanical reproduction,
Announces its anachrony,
Charming the quiet space.

Encouraged to linger, to stay, to idle
Awhile in paused contemplation-
Another coffee perhaps, or cake:
Kawa i ciasto. Ciasto i kawa.

Chiasmus of the hands entwined,
In this café of lovers on a winter’s day
The tryst, the appointed place,
As, silencing, the snow falls muting all the world.

Julian Wolfreys

This is one of three poems for an icy winter's afternoon. They're all taken from Julian's forthcoming book Draping the Sky for a Snowfall.

The poem has a film.sound.track. Listen below.

The Soundfilmtrack , by The Nightwatchmen, is from the bonus CD 'Cafe Retro', which purchasers of The Nightwatchmen's new CD 'The Intelligence of Crows' receive free. All royalties to the Alzheimer Society. Buy the CD here.