Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

J. Slauerhoff

LISBOA

Full of grey and white buildings this port,
New houses abandoned half-way,
Ruins that crumble to nought
And columns one sees turning grey.

And the earthquake’s piles of rubble
Still lie there on all sides.
Salvage and clear? Why trouble?
Underneath, the danger still hides.

Some mansions obliquely truncated,
Others missing a section of wall.
Lisboa’s life is located
In the past: lasting, but no peace at all.

Was this ever before a city’s fate?
A ghost whose life has ceased,
Strangely loyal to its former state
Since the ash rained down on the feast?

LISBOA

LISBOA

Een stad van grijswitte gebouwen
En halfvoltooide huizen,
Van ruïnes die spoorloos vergruizen
En zuilen die zichtbaar vergrauwen.

En overal zijn nog de puinen
Van de aardbeving openbaar.
Waarom zou men bergen en ruimen?
Onder de aarde dreigt steeds het gevaar.

Paleizen zijn scheef afgesneden,
Van andre ontbreekt een brok muur.
Lisboa bestaat in ’t verleden,
Maar ’t kent geen rust, enkel duur.

Was het ooit aan een stad gegeven
Voort te leven als geest,
Vreemd nu en trouw vroeger gebleven
Na een aschregen op een feest?
Close

LISBOA

Full of grey and white buildings this port,
New houses abandoned half-way,
Ruins that crumble to nought
And columns one sees turning grey.

And the earthquake’s piles of rubble
Still lie there on all sides.
Salvage and clear? Why trouble?
Underneath, the danger still hides.

Some mansions obliquely truncated,
Others missing a section of wall.
Lisboa’s life is located
In the past: lasting, but no peace at all.

Was this ever before a city’s fate?
A ghost whose life has ceased,
Strangely loyal to its former state
Since the ash rained down on the feast?

LISBOA

Full of grey and white buildings this port,
New houses abandoned half-way,
Ruins that crumble to nought
And columns one sees turning grey.

And the earthquake’s piles of rubble
Still lie there on all sides.
Salvage and clear? Why trouble?
Underneath, the danger still hides.

Some mansions obliquely truncated,
Others missing a section of wall.
Lisboa’s life is located
In the past: lasting, but no peace at all.

Was this ever before a city’s fate?
A ghost whose life has ceased,
Strangely loyal to its former state
Since the ash rained down on the feast?
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère