JACQUES ROUBAUD
(Trans. Keith and Rosmarie Waldrop)
The Streets in Paris
Impasse de Nevers
Rues Madame and Monsieur
The
streets in Paris have two sides
that’s a general
rule
There is no street
in Paris that has no sides
(besides I don’t
see how there could be a street in Paris (or elsewhere) that has no sides)
There’s not
one street in Paris with only one side
(besides I don’t
see how there could be a street in Paris (or elsewhere) with only one
side)
it would be difficult
for a street in Paris to have three sides
a street in Paris
could very well have four sides
You’d only
have to build houses in the middle of an ordinary street with two sides
however this is
not done
in short
the streets in Paris
have two sides
The streets in Paris
have houses on each side
that’s a general
rule
if a street in Paris
doesn’t have houses on one side
and if on the other
side is the Seine
then it’s
not a street but a quay
Rue de Médicis
has no houses on the side of the Luxembourg Gardens
Rue de Lutèce
not either (on the side of the Arènes de Lutèce)
nor Rue Cuvier along
the Botanical Garden
in this case
we shall say with
Gawanna in the Nyâya-sûtra, that a street has non-houses on
the side where it doesn’t have houses and that these non-houses
are characterized by the non-presence of houses
on that side of
the street
which is by no means
a negative observation
just as an absence
of noise is nothing other
than a positive
observation of silence
and if a street
in Paris has no houses on either side
then there are non-houses
on either side of the street
The streets in Paris
have a left side and a right side
like us
the left side of
a street in Paris is the one where the uneven house numbers go up on your
left as you walk
the right side of
a street in Paris is the one where the even house numbers go up on your
right as you walk
that’s a general
rule
(when I walk in
a street in Paris I make sure to check if this condition is satisfied
(a condition that
would not hold for the houses of the town of Reus in Catalonia
where the arrangement
is the opposite
as good a way as
any for this town to affirm its singularity
(in Caunes-Minervois
all the houses of the town are numbered in one single sequence
so that there is
no left or right side in any street
(if you transport
all the houses of Caunes-Minervois to California and line them up in ascending
order of numbers you get a new town you can call Caunes-Minervois (Cal.)
which will have only one street, a street with only one side—and
without need to suppose some bizarre topology like a Moebius strip
(if transport seems
too costly you could simply construct facsimiles, as has been done for
the Parthenon in Nashville. And, as in Nashville, where the statues missing
from the frieze of the Parthenon have been replaced so that the replica
should be more authentic than what is left of the original, nothing would
keep you from replacing missing tiles on the roofs of the models of houses
of Caunes-Minervois (Cal.)
(or even from adding,
if desired, a patio in front and a swimming pool in back
(since it’s
definitely only the house number that counts
(but it will unfortunately
not be possible to roll out a strip of asphalt before the houses because
then the street would have a second side))))))))
and if it happens
that a street in Paris has numbers on only one side
depending on the evenness of numbers this side will be the left (or the
right) and the non-houses on the other side will all bear an absence of
number which will be odd if their side is the left and even if it is not
I must admit that
streets without houses
and streets that
have only houses without numbers
make me wonder
but I’ll stop
this poem here because of its length
even though there
is still much to say about the streets in Paris
né, nay, nay, nell, nay, né
on, neon, nor on,
need, neo, new, n’you, knee you, nu, nuance, nuke,
navy, navel, no well, no, no, no way, now, now,
no, nay, nay, nudge, nude, nub, nubile, numb, neume
not may, not my, mai, may, moo, menial, nil,
nemial, nay may, nave, name, no aim, noon, nose,
nosegay, nude, neu, neuter, nog, noggin,
nous, new, mew, mew, meeow, minion, minime, nimbus,
nimble, nimmer, ni meurt, number, nummer, mummer,
moon, no on, noon, no, nay, nouveau, nova,
n’eve, ne,
nev, neve, never, never
He walked one day on Rue Madame
One day she walked on Rue Monsieur
Rue Madame is laid with macadam
True no less for Rue Monsieur.
Gladly he strolled down Rue Madame
Calmly she ambled Rue Monsieur
A day without drama on Rue Madame
Delightful day on Rue Monsieur.
You can see the sky from Rue Madame
From Rue Monsieur the skies unfold
All cats are gray in Rue Madame
In Rue Monsieur all cats are old.
She never went down Rue Madame
He never went up Rue Monsieur
Never their eyes met flame with flame
Never a vow from either breast
And maybe that’s all for the best.
He walked away by Rue Madame
She walked away by Rue Monsieur
Rue Madame is laid with macadam
True no less for Rue Monsieur.