Mother

The tears of a crowd of very old children
I string them on a white hair
I throw the wet chain into the air
And wish that I had a mother

No sun shines for me
There was no breast that cried milk
There is a tube that sticks in my throat
I have no navel on my stomach, mother

I was not allowed to lick any nipples
And there was no fold to hide in
No one gave me a name
Fathered in haste and without sperm

For the mother who never gave birth to me
I have sworn tonight
I will send her a sickness
And afterwards make her sink in the river, mother

An eel lives in her lungs
On my forehead, a birthmark
Remove it with the kiss of a knife
Even if it causes me to die, mother

An eel lives in her lungs
On my forehead, a birthmark
Remove it with the kiss of a knife
Even if it causes me to bleed to death, mother

Oh, give me strength