NAKOA KING

to Nakoa, in his second month of reign.

Hello, his Majesty of the Morning
I come to spill in your prescense
the treasures which were rescued during the travels
of this wandering poet

His Majesty
I greet you in the second moon of your reign
with the happiness that all your subjects owe you
from the farthest constellation
to the most insignificant atom of my hair

I ask you
Soverign of my Absences
that you forgive the human meekness of these verses
the only offering I bring
given that there was no incense nor myrrh
and the gold that I found
was corrupted by the greed
of the userer

so I filled my pockets with words
that I bring you
with the happiness of he who woke early
and went out to pick flowers in the fields
with the hope that they would be a pleasing offering

My King
I know that I bring little
and that if you exiled me from before your eyes
I would deserve it
nevertheless
I stand here before you
Waiting for you to say which of all the stars
you would like for your throne this morning.


* translate by Michelle Welchons