THE ANIMALS OF DEMOCRACY

Large painted envelope I mailed to Cheryl Penn in South Africa.
Painting around a cycle of poems by Lucert, a major Dutch poet and artist who belonged to the "movement of the '50s" and Cobra.
Here follows the translation of the 3d section:

From "the animals of democracy" by Lucebert, 1951

Translation/ adaptation by Guido Vermeulen

III

Man hopes for the animal
They carry warmth in the arms
They throw arms in the warmth
The warmth of their dancing-step
Step by step
The Dance Darwin the Darling

But at the backbone of the earth
under the on and on exhausted stars
in a chilling lockjaw
the Animal Lord kisses the short
lips of the luring voices and entangles himself
With long jammed pigtails
he tortures bright light

And crawls
And now comes
and does not return
Now darkness jumps
Now summer lightning does not turn.

Link to a video on Lucebert's Cobra paintings:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xl2hvm_portrait-of-lucebert_creation