Trafika Europe 8 - Romanian Holiday

T.O. BOBE

What the Pagodas Dreamed in the Poem “Barbershop Nights”

Four virgins carry a bloody stretcher through the streets of Rome. On the stretcher is an ear two meters long, with a well developed olfactory sense. It is the imperial inspector in charge of detecting prohibited smells. The girls’ cleats, quick-quick in little steps, sink into dust up to their ankles. The drops of blood give rise to crumpled ears, crushed immediately beneath the crowdsofprotesters. The inspectorheads towardatavern,where among the sweaty mercenaries, slave-traders, and Carthaginian bohemians, Mr. Gică rubs Claudia’s feet. At the corner, it turns out that the demonstrators were not protesting the inspector, but were in fact applauding Speedy. 4 When Mr. Gică surpasses a certain frequency, Claudia begins to cluck, and from under her wing she removes a sign saying, OUT OF SERVICE. Then the imperial inspector in charge of detecting prohibited smells enters the tavern. He climbs off the stretcher, flop plop, and states: “Pheromones here are trotting. The smell of their trepidation has rattledme all the way from the handrails of the Coliseum. My most-high synesthesia is revolted. Arrest him!” Their beards flowing through the tavern smoke, the girls move toward Mr. Gică. Mr. Gică deditur, gallinae proiicintur. Outside is heard the trotting asexual demos, shouting, “Speedy, Speedy!” 4  Speedy is an Ethiopian gladiator, who escaped the arena thirty-six times via onerous flight.

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