Raymond Saner

Raymond Saner
 
Short, long and no more time
 
Oncle Jean Pierre
Oncle Jean Pierre
Died, fell to the ground, gone
Le Châble, église, parking for family only
Ritualized sing-song, no contact
He was said to have said – always
If you cannot say something positive about
A person, say nothing, be quiet, go away
 
Dove on trottoir
A dove hit by car, crouching on trottoir, leaning against wall of our building
Lots of red blood on floor, small lakes, like bubbles
Too weak to move, hovering, awaiting death
With the left eye looking at us passing by, saying, what else will you do?
Will I have to take this until I can die, what other pain, bad act?
We leave her, go back to our office, look out for a ready made carton box grave, don’t want to disturb, give her time to die
We come back an hour later, dove is gone, blood remains, dove left on my mind, no saying good bye
 
 
 
Next time
 
Hansruedi left us two days ago, just like that, and I wanted to drink a bottle of French red wine with him, the next time I would be in Basel again, next time I said to myself, yes, next time.
 
Last time I thought its been a long time since I saw him, last time, I almost made it but then I was so busy with so many things, so many unnecessary things.
 
Next time might be my time to be left behind, next time, may be last time.
 
 
 
Raymond Saner lives in Geneva, teaches at Basel University and Science Po, Paris and is co-founder of CSEND, a NGO focused on sustainable development. Raymond has written radio plays, writes essays and poetry in between night and dawn or in his sleep.