FRISCO-CITY
by Blaise Cendrars It is an antique carcass eaten up by rust The engine repaired twenty times does not make more than 7 to 8 knots Besides to save expenses cinders and coal waste are its only fuel Makeshift sails are hoisted whenever there is a fair wind With his ruddy face his bushy eyebrows his pimply nose Master Hopkins is a true sailor Small silver rings hang from his pierced ears The ship’s cargo is exclusively coffins of Chinese who died in America and wished to be buried in their homeland Oblong boxes painted red and light blue or covered with golden characters Just the type of merchandise it is illegal to ship from the French by Monique Chefdor