No more talking, but facts ! To the arena, to the swords!
Cause I am willing
to die to rid myself
of the bothersome nuisance you are.
Am I insulting
you? I don’t believe so,
since I am just answering to your offence.
But why getting
picky about words?
I may say I offended you,
or that you offended me, whatever you prefer.
I accept all
your conditions,
and I leave to you the choice of the weapons. Or
that of the place,
if you prefer, and I will have whatever choice is
left.
Even better, I
leave both decisions to you.
This much I
long for the fight
to satisfy my desire
for a bitter vendetta.
And be sure, I
hope to spill
a river of your blood. In fact, I am
sure of it.
And I will do
it without spilling a single drop of my own.
But what if you
would offer me peace ?
Perhaps in bed I will follow you,
and there I will fight you,
never surrendering.
And to make you pay for your sordid offence,
I will be on top of you, made fiery by wrestling,
and you will be aroused as you defend yourself.
And in the end I
will die together with you, killed by the same stroke.
Translated by Alastair Fontana
Copyright © Alastair Fontana 2013
Gerard Soest, Portrait of a Woman, 1670
