"Have a seat", said the Turtle.
The Porcupine adjusted his quills and parked himself.
"You know", said the Turtle, there are things more certain
than death."
The Porcupine smiled. "Like taxes? "
The Turtle shook her head. "No, more certain than taxes."
"Really? "
"Yes. Look, after all—as Marcel Duchamp pointed out—
death always happens to others. And if we talk even
more seriously, we have to admit that death
is both an abstraction and a mystery.
Moreover, it appears to be a transition, a transformation
to another state of existence. Life is eternal."
"I see", said the Porcupine. ‘So what is more sure than death? "
"Well", said the Turtle, "we agree that we are not sure
what death is. On the other hand, we can be quite sure
that you are not a crocodile."
"True", allowed the Porcupine. "I am not. Neither am I
a rhinoceros, nor a coconut tree, nor an infinity of other
things."
"Right", said the Turtle. "And then I also humbly suggest
to consider the magnificent certainties of the calendar,
or the multiplication table. Tuesday is always preceded by
Monday, and three times five is always fifteen, respectively."
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem