Tereza Bínová

Translated from the Czech by Joshua Mensch

[Now]

Now
even in any moment after this,
when I look attentively,
and likewise with complete inattention,
when I walk away,
when I close my eyes,
things have a back side.
It exists, holds shape, provides support.
The back, back side of the thighs, top of the head,
even I have a back side.
I catch a glimpse of it,
each time briefly, as I turn away,
it stays behind me a little while longer,
lingers for another instant.

A back side can only ever be seen out of the corner of the eye.

[Tiny animal skeletons hang on strings]

Tiny animal skeletons hang on strings that can’t be seen with the naked eye. A draft through the window. The tiny animal skeletons make sounds, the sound of bone on bone, chimes of hollow sound. Wind through the window. The tiny animal skeletons rearrange themselves. Marten, bear, wolfdog, badger, fox, hare, hawk, mouse. Bear, hawk, hare, fox, badger, mouse, marten, wolfdog. Fox, mouse, marten, wolfdog, bear, hare, hawk, badger. Wind through the window. The marten jumps, the bear lifts its paw, the hawk circles, the mouse cowers, the hare zigzags, the wolfdog bares its teeth, the fox strangles, the badger sleeps. Wind through the wide-open window. The bear cowers, the hare bares its teeth, the fox sleeps, the wolfdog lifts its paw, the mouse strangles, the hawk zigzags, the badger jumps, the marten circles. The hare lifts its paw the hawk sleeps the marten zigzags the badger strangles the bear circles the wolfdog cowers the mouse bares its teeth the fox jumps. I close the window. Hare, fox, bear, hawk, mouse, wolfdog, badger, marten. They can’t be seen with the naked eye. Lately, I can’t get these tiny animal skeletons out of my mind, my skull is an instrument of hollow sound.

TEREZA BÍNOVÁ is from the Vysočina region of the Czech Republic and works as a psychologist. She has published four poetry collections to date. Her debut collection, Souborná zkouška (Comprehensive Exam), appeared in 2014. Her most recent collection, Červený obr (Red Giant), was awarded the Magnesia Litera in 2024. She occasionally contributes to the running of the family-run publishing house Dobrý důvod (Good Reason). She has been nominated for the Dresden Prize for Lyric Poetry 2026.