Poem
Marije Langelaar
Free
Darkness is here, avalanche, wave, cavern.For a couple of weeks I have moved to the town with the utmost
determination and now I lie here opposite a
quayside hewn out of rock on which illuminizing light falls.
Beside me an animal, hardly observant, its heartbeat trembles
obscenely against me. In those short moments when I’m lucid
I wonder, am I a vital part of the river?
Will it die when I escape? Is it the intention that I
escape? Are there kindred spirits there? Can I exist there and
have I been there before?
All these questions make me cross –
shall I sink into the depths among the Makazi plants or crawl out?
Something must be done, so I stiffen my neck, spine, tongue
permeate everything in my will to escape
the blackness, I sing whenever through the tube through the breath through
the razor-sharp hooks everything so close-knit and dangerous but I sing and
slump onto the ground dangerously free
© Translation: 2020, Donald Gardner
Vrij
Vrij
Hier is het donker, lawine, golf, grot.Sinds een week of twee heb ik mij met de grootst mogelijke
concentratie naar de stad toe bewogen en nu lig ik hier voor een
uit steen gehouwen kade waarop illuminiserend licht valt.
Naast mij een dier, zo weinig opmerkzaam, zijn hartslag rilt
obsceen tegen mij aan. In die korte momenten waarin ik helder
ben vraag ik mij af: ben ik een wezenlijk deel van de rivier?
Wanneer ik ontsnap zal zij dan sterven? Is het de bedoeling dat ik
ontsnap? Zijn er daar soortgenoten? Kan ik daar leven en ben ik
daar eerder geweest?
Ik word korzelig van al die vragen –
terugzinken in de diepte tussen de makaziplanten of eruit kruipen?
Iets moet gebeuren, zodat ik mijn nek, wervels, tong
schrap zet alles doordrenk van mijn wilskracht uit het zwart te
geraken, ik zing wanneer ik door de buis door de adem door
de vlijmscherpe haken alles zo nauw en gevaarlijk maar ik zing
en gevaarlijk vrij op de grond stort
© 2009, Marije Langelaar
From: De schuur in
Publisher: Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam
From: De schuur in
Publisher: Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam
Poems
Poems of Marije Langelaar
Close
Free
Darkness is here, avalanche, wave, cavern.For a couple of weeks I have moved to the town with the utmost
determination and now I lie here opposite a
quayside hewn out of rock on which illuminizing light falls.
Beside me an animal, hardly observant, its heartbeat trembles
obscenely against me. In those short moments when I’m lucid
I wonder, am I a vital part of the river?
Will it die when I escape? Is it the intention that I
escape? Are there kindred spirits there? Can I exist there and
have I been there before?
All these questions make me cross –
shall I sink into the depths among the Makazi plants or crawl out?
Something must be done, so I stiffen my neck, spine, tongue
permeate everything in my will to escape
the blackness, I sing whenever through the tube through the breath through
the razor-sharp hooks everything so close-knit and dangerous but I sing and
slump onto the ground dangerously free
© 2020, Donald Gardner
From: De schuur in
From: De schuur in
Free
Darkness is here, avalanche, wave, cavern.For a couple of weeks I have moved to the town with the utmost
determination and now I lie here opposite a
quayside hewn out of rock on which illuminizing light falls.
Beside me an animal, hardly observant, its heartbeat trembles
obscenely against me. In those short moments when I’m lucid
I wonder, am I a vital part of the river?
Will it die when I escape? Is it the intention that I
escape? Are there kindred spirits there? Can I exist there and
have I been there before?
All these questions make me cross –
shall I sink into the depths among the Makazi plants or crawl out?
Something must be done, so I stiffen my neck, spine, tongue
permeate everything in my will to escape
the blackness, I sing whenever through the tube through the breath through
the razor-sharp hooks everything so close-knit and dangerous but I sing and
slump onto the ground dangerously free
© 2020, Donald Gardner
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