Poem

Uljana Wolf

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C

what a false friend, this chef, this boss, this kitchen man or bessie’s beau: i’ll gobble you, love, and leave the hole. love is a donut, by which i mean: do nut go, or i’ll go nuts. or so the song goes through kitchens and guts, we haven’t yet sung of clammy hands. the men were all called sam, and lord, how they could open clam, their other kooky crafts we’ll leave unmentioned—or else just hum them, plumply sated, sugar-mouthed.

© Translation: 2011, Susan Bernofsky
From: False Friends
Publisher: Ugly Duckling Presse, New York, 2011

clam – chef

clam – chef

als boss ein falscher freund, als kitchen man in bessies tross: ein loch, love, ist alles, was blieb. liebe hier gemeint als donut, also known as: du not go. or i'll go nuts. or so it goes. die lieder, durch mägen, küchen. klamme hände kamen darin nicht vor. die männer hießen sam, and lord, how they could open clam. von ihren anderen kooky künsten wollen wir lieber schweigen, oder summen, mit zuckrig vollem mund.

© 2009, kookbooks
From: falsche freunde
Publisher: kookbooks, Idstein

Uljana Wolf

Uljana Wolf

(Germany, 1979)

The German poet and translator Uljana Wolf was born in East Berlin, and studied German literature, English, and Cultural Studies, in Berlin and Krakow. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies in Germany and all over Europe. Given the ease with which Uljana Wolf’s poems appear to be written – with her playful use of language and sense of rhythm – one might think that writing poetry...

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translating

postscript to the kreisau dogs

to the dogs of kreisau

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C

what a false friend, this chef, this boss, this kitchen man or bessie’s beau: i’ll gobble you, love, and leave the hole. love is a donut, by which i mean: do nut go, or i’ll go nuts. or so the song goes through kitchens and guts, we haven’t yet sung of clammy hands. the men were all called sam, and lord, how they could open clam, their other kooky crafts we’ll leave unmentioned—or else just hum them, plumply sated, sugar-mouthed.

© 2011, Susan Bernofsky
From: False Friends
Publisher: 2011, Ugly Duckling Presse, New York

C

what a false friend, this chef, this boss, this kitchen man or bessie’s beau: i’ll gobble you, love, and leave the hole. love is a donut, by which i mean: do nut go, or i’ll go nuts. or so the song goes through kitchens and guts, we haven’t yet sung of clammy hands. the men were all called sam, and lord, how they could open clam, their other kooky crafts we’ll leave unmentioned—or else just hum them, plumply sated, sugar-mouthed.

© 2011, Susan Bernofsky
From: False Friends
Publisher: 2011, Ugly Duckling Presse, New York

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