Complete Works of James Joyce (333 page)

BOOK: Complete Works of James Joyce
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Crossing to the Coa
s
t

 

(Air:
Killaloo
)

Don’t talk of Congo Stanley

Or Livingstone the manly

Or the boys walked marching, parching

      
from Atlanta to the sea.

 

When I lift me left lad lazy,

Begor, I take it aisy.

Dijon - Lyon - par Avignon -

It’s long toulong for me!

           
J’y- J’y-

            
(suis le reste)

Hue’s Hue
?

 

or Dalton’s Dilemma

 

What colour’s Jew Joyce when he’s rude and grim both,

Varied virid from groening and rufous with rage

And if this allrotter’s allred as a roth

Can he still blush unirish yet green as a gage?

Buried Ali
v
e

 

A translation of Gottfried Keller’s “Lebendig Begraben”

Now have I fed and eaten up the rose

Which then she laid within my stiffcold hand.

That I should ever feed upon a rose

I never had believed in liveman’s land.

 

Only I wonder was it white or red

The flower that in this dark my food has been.

Give us, and if Thou give, thy daily bread,

Deliver us from evil, Lord. Amen.

Father O’Fo
r
d

 

(Air: Father O’Flynn)

O Father O’Ford you’ve a masterful way with you.

Maid, wife and widow are wild to make hay with you

Blonde and brunette turn-about run away with you.

You’ve such a way with you, Father O’Ford.

 

That instant they see the sunshine from your eyes

Their hearts flitter flutter, they think and they sigh:

We kiss ground before thee, we madly adore thee

And crave and implore thee to take us, O Lord!

Buy a book in brown pap
e
r

 

Buy a book in brown paper

From Faber and Faber

To see Annie Liffey trip, tumble and caper.

Sevensinns in her singthings,

Plurabells on her prose,

Seashell ebb music wayriver she flows.

To Mrs H. G. who complained that her visitors kept late hou
r
s

 

Go ca’canny with the cognac

And of the Wine fight shy,

Keep your eye upon the hourglass

That leaves the beaker dry.

 

Guestfriendliness to callers

Is your surest thief of time,

They’re so much at holmes when with you

They don’t dream of gugging heim.

Humptydump Dublin squeaks through his nor
s
e

 

Humptydump Dublin squeaks through his norse,

Humptydump Dublin hath a horriple vorse,

   
And, with all his kinks english

   
Plus his irishmanx brogues,

Humpydump Dublin’s grandada of rogues.

Stephen’s Gree
n

 

(Please note: the first three stanzas are by James Stephens)

The wind stood up and gave a shout.

He whistled on his fingers and

 

Kicked the withered leaves about

And thumped the branches with his hand

 

And said he’d kill and kill and kill,

And so he will and so he will.

 

Der Wind stand auf, liess los einen Schrei,

Pfiff mit den Fingern schrill dabei.

 

Wirbelte durres Laub durch den Wald

Und hammerte Aste mit Riesengewalt.

 

Zum Tod, heult, zum Tod und Mord!

Und meint es ernst : ein Wind, ein Wort.

 

Vinden staar op med en vild Huru,

Han piber paa fingerne og nu

 

Sparker bladenes flyvende flok.

Traeerne troer han er Ragnarok

 

Skovens liv og blod vil han draebe og drikke.

Hvad der bliver at goere, det ved ieg ikke.

Les Verts de Jacqu
e
s

 

Le vent d’un saut lance son cri,

Se siffle sur les doigts et puis

 

Trépigne les feuilles d’automne,

Craque les branches qu’il assomme.

 

Je tuerai, crie-t-il, holà!

Et vous verrez s’il le fera!

 

Surgit Boreas digitorum

Fistulam, faciens et clamor em.

 

Pes pugno certat par (oremus!)

Foliis quatit omne nemus.

 

Caedam, ait, caedam, caedam!

Nos ne habeat il le praedam.

 

Balza in piè Fra Vento egrida.

Tre dita in bocca fischia la sfida.

 

Tira calci, pesta botte:

Ridda di foglie e frasche rotte.

 

Ammazzero, ei urla, O gente!

E domeneddio costui non mente diuraddio

As I was going to Joyce Saint James

 

As I was going to Joyce Saint James’

I met with seven extravagant dames;

Every dame had a bee in her bonnet,

With bats from the belfry roosting upon it.

And Ah, I said, poor Joyce Saint James,

What can he do with these terrible dames?

Poor Saint James Joyce.

Pour la Rime Seuleme
n
t

 

A Pierre de Lanux

dit Valéry Larbaud

prête moi un dux

qui peut conduire l’assault

mes pioux piou sont fondus

et meurent de malaise

sois ton petit tondu

pour la gloire d’Ares

Lanux de la Pierre

à Beaulard fit réplique

foute-moi la guerre

avec tes soldiques

car pour l’Italie

presto fais tes malles

tire ta bonne partie

avec quelques balles

à ces mots Leryval

file en obobus

et comme le vieux Hannibal

perce le blocus

à peine atterre sa mine

qu’on crie à la foire

un sous la Mursoline

pour l’arrats de gloire

A Portrait of the Artist as an Ancient Marin
e
r

 

I met with an ancient scribelleer

As I scoured the pirates’ sea

His sailes were alullt at nought coma null

Not raise the wind could he.

 

The bann of Bull, the sign of Sam

Burned crimson on his brow.

And I rocked at the rig of his bricabrac brig

With K.O. 11 on his prow

 

Shakefears & Coy danced poor old joy

And some of their steps were corkers

As they shook the last shekels like phantom freckels

His pearls that had poisom porkers

 

The gnome Norbert read rich bills of fare

The ghosts of his deep debauches

But there was no bibber to slip that scribber

The price of a box of matches

 

For all cried, Schuft! He has lost the Luft

That made his U.boat go

And what a weird leer wore that scribelleer

As his wan eye winked with woe.

 

He dreamed of the goldest sands uprolled

By the silviest Beach of Beaches

And to watch it dwindle gave him Kugelkopfschwindel

Till his eyeboules bust their stitches

 

His hold shipped seas with a drunkard’s ease

And its deadweight grew and grew

While the witless wag still waived his flag

Jemmyrend’s white and partir’s blue.

 

His tongue stuck out with a dragon’s drouth

For a sluice of schweppes and brandy

And but for the glows on his roseate nose

Youd have staked your goat he was Gandhi.

 

For the Yanks and Japs had made off with his traps

So that stripped to the stern he clung

While, increase of a cross, an Albatross

Abaft his nape was hung.

Pennipomes Twoguineasea
c
h

 

Sing a song of shillings

A guinea cannot buy,

Thirteen tiny pomikins

Bobbing in a pie.

 

The printer’s pie was published

And the pomes began to sing

And wasn’t Herbert Hughesius

As happy as a king!

There’s a genial young poetriarch Eu
g
e

 

There’s a genial young poetriarch Euge

Who hollers with heartiness huge:

   
Let sick souls sob for solace

   
So the
jeunes
joy with Jolas!

Book your berths!
Après mot, le déluge.

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