Boredom is not far from bliss: it is bliss seen from the shores of pleasure.
I was embarking
two metres of light between
the edge of the sea
and the horizon
between my ship and the
quay lay two metres of
incompressible ocean
our labours commenced at sun-rise
and did not terminate until night
every precaution was taken
to guard against errors
by calculations I arrived at the exact
number of months I would have to
endure this island before a ship
would be sent out to search
but already
I felt cramped
by these small
divisions
of time
the coast establishes a sort of islet
within common human relation
they left their notches on me
months passed
the island had no need of me
what happens to the coast
does not happen to the discourse
you want something
to happen and
nothing does
like a cork on the waves
I remain motionless
those who have never been afloat
cannot be aware of the inaccuracies
arising from slight errors
which creep into charts
on a rock that
dominated the sea
a metre was divided into centimetres
the Pacific could have
measured itself on it
to within a millimetre
in letters of five centimetres
the beginning of a phrase...
...
