new questions shall one day
take over the planeteveryone thought that Tallis was a tree
yet she was actually water
and there lay the misfortune
for rather than going out on boat-rides
she was into mountain-climbing
with her mum and dad who were 100% trees nonetheless
now why the union of two trees should produce water
was quite a question
years later a lecturer observed
that when Tallis’ conception took place
the moon was so close to the sea
that all students’ essays written that day
were on the topic of water

whenever Tallis saw green she got migraines
until she gradually became afflicted
and her eyes would not open at all
now how come this child had such bright-blue eyes
was quite a question
years later the paleontologist J. Remschneider discovered
the Tallis’ ancestors belonged to a family of trees
that lived undisturbed deep in the Mediterranean
and had such bright-colored leaves
one could scarcely tell them from water

all the doctors said, straightaway, that her life was not in danger
but the life Tallis lived on her bed was not one worth living
in a year’s time her parents gradually became afflicted
as though it were a kind of virus
as though they could not stand it any longer
as though they had both decided upon suicide
Tallis suggested drowning
she had read that way you suffer less
they all went down on a rotting ship
somewhere in the open sea of Skinias
daddy and mummy died instantly
only Tallis, having reached the bottom
gave a push with her knees and by a single jolt
she arose upon the waves
took a few turns then became a little octopus

the shares in which Hurbert had invested all his money
were going down the drain
to save himself from madness he took a week’s leave
and came on holidays to exotic Greece
his hobby was spear-fishing
on the last day of his holidays he caught a little octopus
and after beating it hard on the rocks to soften it
he grilled it, ate it and died of poisoning
a distinguished Swiss stomachologist
whose name escapes me right now
observed a month after the accident
that it is quite a question, if one is not barking mad
why one should want to eat an entire tree
without feeling like committing suicide