Poem
J. Slauerhoff
COMFORT IN SICKNESS
Pizarro, at fifty, saw he had notGained much fame from his perilous life;
Plumes graced the hair of his first lady wife,
While a second tended his small family plot.
He was known as a murderer bold;
He had broken almost each and every law,
But that was precisely what laws were for
On Hispaniola – fifty years old.
His chance came: on a rotten caravelle
He made the journey never made before
And with a hundred men conquered Peru.
Fifty he was, only thirty I, who can tell
If I won’t find the sixth continent’s shore,
Though taking three steps is all I can do?
© Translation: 2007, Paul Vincent
ZIEKENTROOST
ZIEKENTROOST
Pizarro had de vijftig overschredenEn weinig roem behaald uit veel gevaar;
Zijn eerste vrouw droeg veeren in het haar
En op zijn kleine akker werkte een tweede.
Hij stond bekend als drieste moordenaar,
Geen wet haast die hij niet had overtreden,
Maar dat behoorde tot de goede zeden
Op Hispaniola – hij was vijftig jaar.
Toen kwam de kans: met een vermolmd karveel
Maakte hij de reis die niemand vóór hem deed,
Veroverde met honderd man Peroe.
Vijftig was hij, ik dertig maar: wie weet
Ontdek ik niet het zesde werelddeel,
Al ben ik nu na een paar stappen moe?
© 1998, Erven J. Slauerhoff / K. Lekkerkerker / Uitgeverij Nijgh & Van Ditmar
From: Alle gedichten
Publisher: Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Amsterdam
From: Alle gedichten
Publisher: Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Amsterdam
Poems
Poems of J. Slauerhoff
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COMFORT IN SICKNESS
Pizarro, at fifty, saw he had notGained much fame from his perilous life;
Plumes graced the hair of his first lady wife,
While a second tended his small family plot.
He was known as a murderer bold;
He had broken almost each and every law,
But that was precisely what laws were for
On Hispaniola – fifty years old.
His chance came: on a rotten caravelle
He made the journey never made before
And with a hundred men conquered Peru.
Fifty he was, only thirty I, who can tell
If I won’t find the sixth continent’s shore,
Though taking three steps is all I can do?
© 2007, Paul Vincent
From: Alle gedichten
From: Alle gedichten
COMFORT IN SICKNESS
Pizarro, at fifty, saw he had notGained much fame from his perilous life;
Plumes graced the hair of his first lady wife,
While a second tended his small family plot.
He was known as a murderer bold;
He had broken almost each and every law,
But that was precisely what laws were for
On Hispaniola – fifty years old.
His chance came: on a rotten caravelle
He made the journey never made before
And with a hundred men conquered Peru.
Fifty he was, only thirty I, who can tell
If I won’t find the sixth continent’s shore,
Though taking three steps is all I can do?
© 2007, Paul Vincent
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