Pablo Neruda, From Selected Failings (Defectos Escogidos) 1972-1973
The Great Urinator (El Gran Orinador)
The great urinator was yellow
and the stream that came down
was bronze-colored rain
on the domes of churches,
on the roofs of cars,
on factories and cemeteries,
on the populace and their gardens.
Who was it, where was it?
It was a density, thick liquid
falling as from
a horse, and frightened passersby
with no umbrellas
looked up skyward,
meanwhile avenues were flooding
and urine inexhaustibly flowing
underneath doors,
backing up drains, disintegrating
marble floors, carpets,
staircases.
Nothing could be detected. Where
was this peril?
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