Gabrielė Labanauskaitė

1980 / Klaipėda

[Our leaders love to act like parents]

Our leaders love to act like parents
But it's been so long since they've brought home wages
Our economy is like a mother,
Usually stable and responsible,
But a break down has her smoking one cigarette after another.

Our stock exchange is like a pair of sisters
Who argue constantly and steal each other's things.
Our capital likes is like a brother -
The eldest brother who knows just what we need.

Our press is like a first cousin
Who spreads rumors after every family gathering.
And our advertising likes to act like hyperactive nieces,
While our real estate is like an overweight uncle.

Our asexual poisons are nearest to our bodies
Our asexual poisons branch out like trees
Branching blood vessels in our outstretched hands.

I don't have a family
I've been an orphan for so long.

Translation from Lithuanian by Ada Valaitis
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