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Štrasser, Ján: Gas reading (Stav plynu in English)

Portre of Štrasser, Ján

Stav plynu (Slovak)

Sťa lazar ležím
s chrípkou, drhne ma
kašeľ, odrazu ktosi
zvoní. Zaliaty potom
hrabem sa z postele,
šuchcem sa k dverám,
otváram. Na prahu
muž. Vraví mi:
Dobrý večer, prišiel som
odčítať stav plynu.

Pridusený
kašľom ustúpim
odo dvier, hovorím:
poďte ďalej.

Muž požiada o stoličku,
stane si na ňu, skúmavo
hľadí na počítadlo plynomeru,
značí si číslice.

Zalapám po dychu,
skrúti ma nápor kašľa, utekám
do sprchy, odŕham, skúšam
dostať z priedušiek
ten hlien.

V predsieni muž
zostúpi zo stoličky,
zavrie ohmataný zošit.
Budete doplácať,
vraví pri odchode.
Zakaždým doplácam, hovorím
pomedzi kašeľ, plynár mizne
za dverami a ja sa zhlboka
nadýchnem a skôr než mi hrudník
zovrie pálivá bolesť,
dopoviem: To nič,
hlavne, že žijeme.



PublisherLCA Levice/Modrý Peter Toronto, MCMXCIX
Source of the quotationJán Štrasser: Očné pozadie

Gas reading (English)

Like a leper I lie,
down with the flu, coughing
rasps me, suddenly someone
rings. Awash with sweat,
I drag myself from bed,
shuffle to the door,
open. On the threshold
is a man: He says:
Good evening, I'm here
to read the gas.
Choked
with coughing, I retreat
from the door, say:
Come inside.
The man asks for a chair,
stands on it, enquiringly
looks at the unit count,
marks the digits.
I gasp for breath,
the blast of coughing bows me, I flee
to the shower, I hack and whoop, I try
to clear the bronchia
of all that phlegm.
In the hall the man
gets down from the chair,
closes his well-thumbed book.
You'll have a surcharge,
he says, going.
I always have a surcharge, I say
between coughs, the gasman disappears
beyond the door and I inhale
deeply and before the searing pain
grips my chest tight,
I say the rest: No matter,
we're alive, that’s the main thing.



Source of the quotationRetina, 1999

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