Preliminary Sketches for Portraits I Will Not Paint
Alexander Androv
Translated from the Bulgarian · Подготвителни скици за портрети, които няма да рисувам
He loved only what he could see.
But since he couldn’t see past the end of his nose…
***
He sowed words
and did not care
that the field does not sow…
***
He put on make-up
because he was looking for something beyond beauty…
***
Every morning he told himself
that he would lie no more,
but wondered from when he ought to count his promise —
before or after that phrase.
***
Whenever he tried to make sense of something,
he quickly changed the subject.
***
He forgot as much as he could.
Everything else he tried not to remember at all.
***
His eloquence consisted
of 1000 different interjections.
***
He lived alone
with his six wives.
***
He regarded himself with understanding
in the eyes of others.