Arrivals Level

Abstract

Arrivals Level Beverley Bie Brahic (bio) i Was it unwise of me to askThe immigration officerWhy we must do everything twice:First the automated, thenThe human-op machines? I can't stamp your passport. Crowding forward, papers in hand,I speculated it was a trialOf automation before the humansWere declared redundant … It gives you two chances to lie to us. Follow me To Secondary Screening,Holding pen for the dispossessed—Grandmother with hair raked backIn a sari in a wheelchair; A MitteleuropeanWith all his anger on the surfaceWho frightens me— Why am I here?!How long is it going to take?! [End Page 82] Twenty minutes?! Two hours?!Why won't you tell me?! The cell-phone icon on the wall is barredNo one is waiting for usWith signs and flowers; Eastern Europe is manhandled to another room.Sari grandma nods offIn a distant time zone whose childrenBring her cold water. Does she dream How she gave away her cooking pots? How red the dust smelled after rain? Now and then a petitioner is summonedTo sign documentsAs in an hour or two someone will hand me mineSaying, "Welcome back …" Don't ask.You saw what happened to Middle Europe. ii Girth of a punching bagThe duffel Viktor gripsBetween his knees: lunch doneHe'll cradle it and turnTo face the small-paned doorWith its decent curtainStopping to run his handsHis large useless handsUnder the cold tap. WhenHe cracks open the doorDecember shoulders in.La porte! the others yellIn French, Romanian [End Page 83] Polish, Russian … but theSpoons speak only hunger. iii So far we've been luckyIn our democracy.Sure, every week we meetA few budding tyrantsWith their humiliationsSuffered and passed on.But do we mouth fuck youAt Immigration, jobsOffice, the kiddies' school?Anger can be costly.Moreover, how to blameThis person whose day brokeOver sirens wailing,Angry traffic, a childPestering for pennies?Let's just hope he neverInherits the earth. [End Page 84] Beverley Bie Brahic Beverley Bie Brahic is the author of four collections of poetry, including the 2012 Forward Prize finalist White Sheets. She has translated works by Charles Baudelaire, Yves Bonnefoy, and Hélène Cixous. Francis Ponge: Unfinished Ode to Mud was a 2009 Popescu Translation Prize finalist; Guillaume Apollinaire: The Little Auto won the 2012 Scott Moncrieff Prize for translation. Her most recent collection is The Hotel Eden (Carcanet, 2018). Copyright © 2022 University of Nebraska Press