The Ofi Press Magazine

 Poem by Jen Calleja (UK). Published in Issue 25.

Die Musik

What prospects do I have today? I ask.
They all smile. What would you like?
May I have the chance to sing?
To sing.
They flick through a book.
To sing. Ah, I see, to sing.
One of them, one of us,
Pulls down my trousers and underwear.
They draw a line under my bellybutton, to
Highlight what comes after.
They draw a Fig 1 and write Fig 1 on a sheet of paper.
Sing, they say. I sing.
They make some notes. I hum.
They make some notes.
I sing loudly, like I’m shouting.
They make some notes.
It means a lot. Not as much as it used to, one of them
responds with a frown, looking at me.
I pull up my underwear and my trousers and leave.
It was good, they shout after me, as an afterthought.

  Photo: Alamy

Jen Calleja is a short story writer, poet and literary translator based in London. She has had her own work published in many independent publications including No.Zine, Team and Playground. Her short story ‘Town Called Distraction’ which she co-wrote with Patrick Fisher has been played on BBC Radio 6. In 2011 she was runner-up finalist for Brighton Festival’s Peacock Poetry Prize. Her first book translation is being published this year by Bloomsbury. She is also Editor of Anglo-German arts journal Verfreundungseffekt.