Tengo algo que enseñarles, extraÃdo de A Book of Nonsense, libro de poemas del muy nombrado en estas páginas Mervyn Peake.
Acaba de llegarme vÃa www.bookcrossing.com, que Yaveh les dé hijos fuertes y terneras lustrosas. Es un enjambre de maravillas y yo debo compartirlas con ustedes, Ociosos Lectores. Ah, por cierto, viene prologado por Maeve Gilmore, paciente esposa del señor Peake.
Yo no sé a qué está esperando Nick Cave para currarse una canción con esto. Una con música festiva y ominosa a la par, que no está reñido. Tampoco sé a qué está esperando Neil Gaiman, ya que estamos.
I
There lived a dwarf in Battersea
(O lend me a tanner!)
There lived a dwarf in Battersea
Whose hands were white in leprosy
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
II
At dead of night he crept to see
(O lend me a tanner!)
At dead of night he crept to see
What he could see at 163!
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
III
And there he saw a maiden fair
(O lend me a tanner!)
And there he saw a maiden fair
With tawny eyes and tawny hair
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
IV
Then through the letter-box he crept
(O lend me a tanner!)
Then through the letter-box he crept
To where the golden lady slept
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
V
He gave a most disgusting croak
(O lend me a tanner!)
He gave a most disgusting croak
At which the sleeping one awoke
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
VI
The dwarf hissed through his pointed teeth
(O lend me a tanner!)
The dwarf hissed through his pointed teeth
And drew a skewer from its sheath
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
VII
But look! A creature high above
(O lend me a tanner!)
But see! A creature high above
Has singed the yellow wall with love!
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
VIII
And like the story tales of yore
(O lend me a tanner!)
And like the story tales of yore
This creature leaps upon the floor
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
IX
O he came sailing through the air
(O lend me a tanner!)
O he came sailing through the air
For what man dareth he will dare
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
X
His hair was dark his lips were fat
(O lend me a tanner!)
His hair was dark his lips were fat
He wore a grenny yellow hat
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
XI
He thrust a paintbrush through the dwarf
(O lend me a tanner!)
He thrust a paintbrush through the dwarf
And shouted with a grisly larf…
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
XII
‘Get in this tin of linseed oil!’
(O lend me a tanner!)
‘Get in this tin of linseed oil!
Before I put it on to boil!’
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
XIII
The dwarf turns white but did as bid
(O lend me a tanner!)
The dwarf turns white but did as bid
And then they fastened down the lid
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
XIV
They danced a tango up and down
(O lend me a tanner!)
They danced a tango up and down
Until the yellow dwarf went brown
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
XV
Until the yellow dwarf went black
(O lend me a tanner!)
Until the yellow dwarf went black
And then they laid him to his back
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
XVI
Until the yellow dwarf went red
(O lend me a tanner!)
Until the yellow dwarf went red
And they stood him on his head!
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
XVII
And set him down the Thames afloat
(O lend me a tanner!)
And set him down the Thames afloat
Within a papier-mâché boat
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away.
XVIII
So one and all beware who wish
(O lend me a tanner!)
So one and all beware who wish
Within the sacred pool to fish!
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river runs away.
XIX
And all beware who wish to see
(O lend me a tanner!)
And all beware who hope to see
The golden light of 163
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away!
XX
There lived a dwarf in Battersea
(O lend me a tanner!)
There lived a dwarf in Battersea
But he has now passed over see
And where is he? O don’t ask me!
(Sing you O to me O)
And the river rolls away
A way
And the river rolls away.