Love Song


If you were drowning, I’d come to the rescue,

wrap you in my blanket and pour hot tea.

If I were a sheriff, I’d arrest you

and keep you in the cell under lock and key.

If you were a bird, I ‘d cut a record

and listen all night long to your high-pitched trill.

If I were a sergeant, you’d be my recruit,

and boy i can assure you you’d love the drill.

If you were Chinese, I’d learn the languages,

burn a lot of incense, wear funny clothes.

If you were a mirror, I’d storm the Ladies,

give you my red lipstick and puff your nose.

If you loved volcanoes, I’d be lava

renlentlessly erupting from my hidden source.

And if you were my wife, I’d be your lover

because the church is firmly against divorce.


Joseph Brodsky (Iosif Aleksandrovič Brodskij, Russia, 1940 – USA, 1996)


Cover: Roman Stanczak, The Flight (ph. Diana Marrone)

Leave a Reply