The Temperature of Words

he halogens of the photoshoot he leaves of the urban garden Hudson or Seine

he office table blue sweater he touchscreen brushed fingers and the jeans

the ygman’s short hair the encounters he fugitives he rainwater 

he blue sweater slipped on hastily the covers the foliage für dich he day

he reckless driver’s intemperance the bellicose muses to kiss he tongue

well yeah he just sort of like that his swagger marine sweater

he cliché taken rotunda bus the showers unseen surrounded by his arms

of he sitting on the blanket he barefoot the allegro’s astonishing agility

the rapid pinch of an ear he eyes in eyes he foot paths

the high mountain lava magma the geysers he volcanic rocks

he stammer of sentences derailed by means of skin

he fuck you he probably sitting in a pickup truck he at the helm

he the estherházi natalie barney the highland hills Cosimo de Medici saint laurent he the dreier he

tasting he mouth his breasts every parcel of his skin with the back of a thumb

on the palm of the hand takes he lover he without saying it he declaimer he

declaring he aquiline nose hooked nose the broken nose tip of an absence of sentimentalism

fully naked he too he having forgotten everything so removed he always never ever even

later not speaking keeping quiet speaking of he minimal writings the distant pulsations

he risk of collapsing the end of moral rectitude he pure joy he here then

for he illusion of a dreamt character not the feelings of mine he agile

he atm at the bank the beckoning crowd he umbrellas unfolded

the metro passengers the insurance representative her he red hair affirming

the striped bowtie the neighbor’s black fringe tip the mandarin collar she wears

he overworn jeans he dissonant Ingrid Caven exaltation auf wiedersehen

thanks ok bye he of great joy great pain of him caressed eyelash absence

of expression he Pauline at the beach he thick black hair he crew cut

he invention of new syntagms he sexual reproduction

the subtle cut above a lip he amuse-bouche

slowly his index he hand run like this over hair twice

he lady passer-by on Rimbaud street he emphatic gesture

three times four times and more he unzipped pants he hand between

underwear and skin he total beauty of his body he against the wall

tight pants if possible he banker friend he courier the smile of 

a package delivered he soft glides them florist esthetician the driver

he resinous throw he maritime pine he spruce tree achenes 

the sound of peeling sticky notes he brittle bark the brazil house

spanish russian malian he japanese hebrew the geographic maps

the rivers seas oceans the continents of here and out the antipodes

he spirit of nimbleness he enthusiasm he right ankle under left

leg his arched back he burst of laughter of him moroccan berber chinese andalusian

he allegedly french gait he louis the fourteenth’s jewelry box he the louvre

the pyramid yes even the cour carrée even the bernin the pocket where their hand slips

he absence of an expected message the coincidental encounter he poorly assured

conversation shyness as virtue telling him of planets or constellated flags

he white shirt striped shirt black shirt with white polka-dots the under-

wear white seams the walls repainted white the black or white laces

he modulated sentence the words the pileups of mountain hairpins

he and then again to the extent that he or s/he especially since she he good lords

Ninetto’s curly hair fiery hair of the boy the young girl

‘s smooth hair the girls bursting out laughing he french italian english

he bras and high heels he captive of the desert

he classical unities of time action and place he doorbell he living room clock

he red green alternance red green red green red green red green

red green red green red green red green red green red green red

Excerpt from “The Temperature of Words” (in Photocall, projet d'attendrissement, Les Petits Matins, 2021)

Translated from the French by Léon Pradeau with permission from Les Petits Matins

Vincent Broqua is a writer, translator and professor at Université Paris 8. He is the co-curator of the Double Change reading series. His latest books include Recovery (trans. Cole Swensen, Pamenar Press, 2023) and La langue du garçon (Al Dante, 2023). Photocall: projet d'attendrissement, from which "The Temperature of Words" is extracted, won the "best gay novel" award 2021 in the poetry section.

Léon Pradeau lives in Chicago. He translates to and from the French and edits Transat', a journal of transatlantic poetry and poetics. He writes books in French and English, including vaisseau instantané / instant shipping (Les murmurations, 2024) and "This is it" (Antiphony, 2025).