Poem
Herman De Coninck
Birthday Verse
You never said anything. I always had to ask.If you loved me. & you gave me a kiss.
If it was safe that first time,
& another kiss.
& a little later if I was doing it right
& a kiss, O.
You never said anything, always said it with your eyes.
Your eyes that stayed behind in your face
alone when I left you;
your eyes after crying:
you weren’t there,
you looked at me like faraway places,
& I had to go there,
& once I had got that far,
the eyes that you used to say ‘darling’,
looking to see if it didn’t change
on its way to me.
& when you lay by the road in the meadow,
O what all hadn’t you broken,
your legs, your ribs, your eyes, me.
You never said anything, always said it with your eyes,
the way you lay there dying,
eyeing,
& your eyes that your son has in now,
that he uses to say: don’t go -
you never said anything, he says it, & you look at me.
© Translation: 1983, The estate of James S Holmes
From: The Low Countries
Publisher: Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem, 1997
From: The Low Countries
Publisher: Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem, 1997
Verjaardagsvers
Verjaardagsvers
Je zei nooit wat. Ik moest het altijd vragen.Of je van mij hield. En je zoende.
Of het veilig was die eerste keer.
En je zoende weer.
En even later of ik het goed deed zo,
en je zoende, o.
Je zei nooit wat, je zei het altijd met je ogen.
Je ogen die helemaal alleen
in je gezicht achterbleven als ik je verliet;
je ogen na geween:
je was er niet,
je keek me aan als verten
en ik moest erheen.
En als ik weer tot daar was
de ogen waarmee je het woord ‘lieveling’ zei,
keek of het niet veranderde
op weg naar mij.
En toen je naast de weg lag in de wei,
wat had je niet allemaal gebroken,
je benen, je ribben, je ogen, mij.
Je zei nooit wat, je zei het altijd met je ogen,
zoals je daar lag, te zieltogen,
te zielogen.
En je ogen die je zoon nu in heeft staan,
waarmee hij zegt: niet weggaan -
je zei nooit wat, hij zegt het, en jij kijkt mij aan.
© 1971, The estate of Herman de Coninck
From: De Gedichten
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam
From: De Gedichten
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam
Poems
Poems of Herman De Coninck
Close
Birthday Verse
You never said anything. I always had to ask.If you loved me. & you gave me a kiss.
If it was safe that first time,
& another kiss.
& a little later if I was doing it right
& a kiss, O.
You never said anything, always said it with your eyes.
Your eyes that stayed behind in your face
alone when I left you;
your eyes after crying:
you weren’t there,
you looked at me like faraway places,
& I had to go there,
& once I had got that far,
the eyes that you used to say ‘darling’,
looking to see if it didn’t change
on its way to me.
& when you lay by the road in the meadow,
O what all hadn’t you broken,
your legs, your ribs, your eyes, me.
You never said anything, always said it with your eyes,
the way you lay there dying,
eyeing,
& your eyes that your son has in now,
that he uses to say: don’t go -
you never said anything, he says it, & you look at me.
© 1983, The estate of James S Holmes
From: The Low Countries
Publisher: 1997, Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem
From: The Low Countries
Publisher: 1997, Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem
Birthday Verse
You never said anything. I always had to ask.If you loved me. & you gave me a kiss.
If it was safe that first time,
& another kiss.
& a little later if I was doing it right
& a kiss, O.
You never said anything, always said it with your eyes.
Your eyes that stayed behind in your face
alone when I left you;
your eyes after crying:
you weren’t there,
you looked at me like faraway places,
& I had to go there,
& once I had got that far,
the eyes that you used to say ‘darling’,
looking to see if it didn’t change
on its way to me.
& when you lay by the road in the meadow,
O what all hadn’t you broken,
your legs, your ribs, your eyes, me.
You never said anything, always said it with your eyes,
the way you lay there dying,
eyeing,
& your eyes that your son has in now,
that he uses to say: don’t go -
you never said anything, he says it, & you look at me.
© 1983, The estate of James S Holmes
From: The Low Countries
Publisher: 1997, Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem
From: The Low Countries
Publisher: 1997, Ons Erfdeel, Rekkem
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