My father lies black and hushed
Beneath white hospital sheets
He collapsed at work
His iron left him
Slow and quiet he sank
Meeting the wet concrete floor on his way
the wheels were still turning – they couldn’t stop
Red and yellow lights flashing
Gloved hands twisting knobs – they couldn’t stop
And as they carried him out
The whirling and buzzing and humming machines
Applauded him
Lapping up his dripping iron
They couldn’t stop.
Beneath white hospital sheets
He collapsed at work
His iron left him
Slow and quiet he sank
Meeting the wet concrete floor on his way
the wheels were still turning – they couldn’t stop
Red and yellow lights flashing
Gloved hands twisting knobs – they couldn’t stop
And as they carried him out
The whirling and buzzing and humming machines
Applauded him
Lapping up his dripping iron
They couldn’t stop.
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2015/3/19 - 22:39
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Versi di Richard W. Thomas (1939-), storico, poeta e docente universitario afroamericano.
Nella raccolta intitolata “Black Fire: An Anthology of Afro American Writing”, a cura di LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) e Larry Neal, prima edizione 1968.
Musica di Hans Werner Henze (1926-2012), importante compositore tedesco, in “Voices – Stimmen”, raccolta di canzoni per mezzo soprano, tenore, elettroniche, campionamenti e 15 musicisti impegnati a suonare una settantina di strumenti diversi, pubblicata nella RDT nel 1973
Alla base della composizione c'erano 22 brani indipendenti, le "voci" di diversi autori, "giovani e vecchi artisti che rifettono sul genere umano, sulla condizione dell'uomo contemporaneo e sui problemi di razza e di classe in cui loro stessi si sono imbattuti nel corso dell'esistenza".