THE NANTES TRAM Poem by William Cliff

the people smoke the people drink something distilled
the people swallow coffee the people eat quantities of meat
they eat the flesh of animals they've killed
the people talk while they eat they stand with their weight on one foot
as they swig their wine the people make babies
while they sleep the people put their bodies together
the people pair up the people without realizing it
in putting their bodies together the people make each other fruitful
and like all the animals in creation
the people reproduce themselves the people enjoy liberation
from their anxieties by propagation

and then when they walk on the pavements of the city
the people smoke again as they wait for the tram
since for the people the tram doesn't come very fast
the people rush onto the tram when it comes at last
and then the tram starts off again as it had come
other people are going to await the coming of the tram
which is going to take them where they want to go
the Nantes tram takes them outside the city
to breathe the air of the birds the people go away
on the Nantes tram to the fresh forests
to refresh their rightful needs

later on the tram the people re-enter Nantes
where they will re-smoke the people will eat meat
and they will re-speak the people will drink wine
they will swallow coffee and after that they
will catch the tram in order to go away
to breathe the air of the birds that chant to Nantes
in full-throated triumph the Immense Existence