Poem
Henrik Nordbrandt
SLEEPING AROUND
I love to sleep aroundin foreign rooms
with foreign women
and hear the rain on the roof
and hear the banana plant scraping against the gutter
and hear the water pipes gurgle
and a radio switch on in the room next door.
I love to hear a woman
break out in moans in a foreign language.
I love foreignness:
the one room more foreign than the other
the one woman more foreign than the other
the tiger’s roar in the yard under the moon.
I love when I am in love
with a certain one
and I hear all of these sounds
alone in the dark
© Translation: 2009, Thom Satterlee
SLEEPING AROUND
Ik houd ervan om overalin vreemde kamers te slapen
met vreemde vrouwen
en de regen op het dak te horen
en het ritselen van de bananenplant tegen de dakgoot te horen
en de waterleiding te horen klokken
en een radio aangaan in de kamer ernaast.
Ik houd ervan een vrouw in een vreemde taal
in een klaagzang te horen losbarsten
Ik houd van de vreemdheid:
De ene kamer vreemder dan de andere
de ene vrouw vreemder dan de andere
het gebrul van de tijger op de binnenplaats onder de maan.
Ik houd ervan als ik verliefd ben
op een bepaalde
en ik hoor al die geluiden
alleen in het donker.
© Vertaling: 2009, Annelies van Hees
SLEEPING AROUND
Jeg elsker at sove rundt omkringi fremmede værelser
med fremmede kvinder
og høre regnen på taget
og høre bananplantens raslen mod tagrenden
og høre vandrørene klukke
og en radio gå i gang i naboværelset.
Jeg elsker at høre en kvinde
bryde ud i klagesang på et fremmed sprog.
Jeg elsker fremmedheden:
det ene værelse mere fremmed end det andet
den ene kvinde mere fremmed end den anden
tigerens brøl på gårdspladsen under månen.
Jeg elsker, når jeg er forelsket
i én bestemt
og jeg hører alle disse lyde
alene i mørket
From: Pjaltefisk
Publisher: Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Publisher: Gyldendal, Copenhagen
Poems
Poems of Henrik Nordbrandt
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SLEEPING AROUND
I love to sleep aroundin foreign rooms
with foreign women
and hear the rain on the roof
and hear the banana plant scraping against the gutter
and hear the water pipes gurgle
and a radio switch on in the room next door.
I love to hear a woman
break out in moans in a foreign language.
I love foreignness:
the one room more foreign than the other
the one woman more foreign than the other
the tiger’s roar in the yard under the moon.
I love when I am in love
with a certain one
and I hear all of these sounds
alone in the dark
© 2009, Thom Satterlee
From: Pjaltefisk
From: Pjaltefisk
SLEEPING AROUND
I love to sleep aroundin foreign rooms
with foreign women
and hear the rain on the roof
and hear the banana plant scraping against the gutter
and hear the water pipes gurgle
and a radio switch on in the room next door.
I love to hear a woman
break out in moans in a foreign language.
I love foreignness:
the one room more foreign than the other
the one woman more foreign than the other
the tiger’s roar in the yard under the moon.
I love when I am in love
with a certain one
and I hear all of these sounds
alone in the dark
© 2009, Thom Satterlee
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