Nyirbator

Oscar Schwartz

on top of the bridge

the danube’s bullpit the mosquitoes

the brown stones the currency 

accumulating everything as it should be and

hair emptying into a plastic bag

outside the synagogue my arm

itchy I pray for the return of

a name this is all so super it is

also regular and I see it as a bright

pink boarder or empty glasses frames

or a nut shell this is you watching me

behave like a nut shell entirely tied up

to some familiar name stoned marble

this is you petrified stoned palpable

the nut is no longer moved by stimuli

not even purple grapes or purple light

on barmitzvahed hands the most

precise siren is silence and if you

wander through the mass names and

rub your eyes is it because you are

expressing sadness or is it because

I happen to be playing with a name

as it used to be I do feel like I’m watching

you yes I am from a bridge do me a favour  

visit my family tell me their names