Poem
Jean Daive
FIRST NOTEBOOK
All the children are swaddledas white
as
dried beans
sheltered from the air
for time
even recycles
pots
of jam
Indian graves
at lake
Koshkonong
and upon this memory
a ball rolls
up to the sacred
excavations.
The golfers
play
among the corpses.
The oath is not more
newsworthy
than the government
of words
around the table
a Sunday
at home.
Everything keeps
a smell of milk
and clean house.
What is the role
of the water
pump
in a peacefuly day ?
It's raining.
The wind rises.
The river
softer
than the rain
falling
on the roof
lights up.
Water is everywhere
outside.
The window.
Always.
And what it shows
in a reduced space.
Couch.
Chair and table.
Bed. Floor.
Stove.
Enameled oven.
The memories are there
along the river
that moves on.
The window opposite
lights up the same objects
but in inverse order.
Space forms a square.
Four angles.
Grass is airy and
the trees –
witnesses.
A wild
bank retained
by stones.
Trunks. Branches.
Grass and pink
mushrooms.
The clouds are very low.
The pump has
certainly
captured History.
The radiator
bad weather.
This field in front of the landing
is very damp.
Dispossession
since it's natural
to flow
has value of nocturnal
transfers
of exchanges.
Children
well replace
trees.
© Translation: 2012, Norma Cole
From: A Woman with Several Lives
Publisher: La Presse/Fence Books, Iowa City & Paris, 2012
From: A Woman with Several Lives
Publisher: La Presse/Fence Books, Iowa City & Paris, 2012
PREMIER CAHIER
PREMIER CAHIER
Tous les enfants sont langésaussi blancs
que
haricots secs
à l'abri de l'air
car le temps
recycle même
les pots
de confiture.
Les tombes indiennes
devant le lac
Koshkonong –
et sur cette mémoire
une balle roule
jusque dans les excavations
sacrées.
Les golfeurs
jouent
au milieu des cadavres.
Le serment n'est pas plus
à l'ordre du jour
que le gouvernement
des mots
autour de la table
un dimanche
en famille.
Tout maintient
une odeur de lait
et de maison propre.
Quel est le rôle
de la pompe
à eau
dans une journée paisible ?
Il pleut.
Le vent se lève.
La rivière plus
douce
que la pluie qui
tombe
sur le toit
illumine.
L'eau est partout
dehors.
La fenêtre.
Toujours.
Et ce qu'elle montre
dans un espace réduit.
Divan.
Fauteuil et table.
Lit. Plancher.
Cuisinière.
Four émaillé.
Les souvenirs sont là
le long de la rivière
qui s'éloigne.
La fenêtre opposée
éclaire les mêmes objets
mais dans l'ordre inverse.
L'espace forme un carré.
Quatre angles.
L'herbe est aérienne et
les arbres –
témoins.
Une berge
sauvage retenue
par des pierres.
Des troncs. Des branches.
De l'herbe et des champignons
roses.
Les nuages sont très bas.
La pompe a
certainement
capturé l'Histoire.
Le radiateur
les intempéries.
Ce pré devant l'embarcadère
est très humide.
La dépossession
lorsqu'elle est de nature
à s'écouler
a valeur de cessions
nocturnes
d'échanges.
Des enfants
remplacent bien
les arbres.
© 2009, Jean Daive
From: Une femme de quelques vies
Publisher: Flammarion, « Poésie », Paris
From: Une femme de quelques vies
Publisher: Flammarion, « Poésie », Paris
Poems
Poems of Jean Daive
Close
FIRST NOTEBOOK
All the children are swaddledas white
as
dried beans
sheltered from the air
for time
even recycles
pots
of jam
Indian graves
at lake
Koshkonong
and upon this memory
a ball rolls
up to the sacred
excavations.
The golfers
play
among the corpses.
The oath is not more
newsworthy
than the government
of words
around the table
a Sunday
at home.
Everything keeps
a smell of milk
and clean house.
What is the role
of the water
pump
in a peacefuly day ?
It's raining.
The wind rises.
The river
softer
than the rain
falling
on the roof
lights up.
Water is everywhere
outside.
The window.
Always.
And what it shows
in a reduced space.
Couch.
Chair and table.
Bed. Floor.
Stove.
Enameled oven.
The memories are there
along the river
that moves on.
The window opposite
lights up the same objects
but in inverse order.
Space forms a square.
Four angles.
Grass is airy and
the trees –
witnesses.
A wild
bank retained
by stones.
Trunks. Branches.
Grass and pink
mushrooms.
The clouds are very low.
The pump has
certainly
captured History.
The radiator
bad weather.
This field in front of the landing
is very damp.
Dispossession
since it's natural
to flow
has value of nocturnal
transfers
of exchanges.
Children
well replace
trees.
© 2012, Norma Cole
From: A Woman with Several Lives
Publisher: 2012, La Presse/Fence Books, Iowa City & Paris
From: A Woman with Several Lives
Publisher: 2012, La Presse/Fence Books, Iowa City & Paris
FIRST NOTEBOOK
All the children are swaddledas white
as
dried beans
sheltered from the air
for time
even recycles
pots
of jam
Indian graves
at lake
Koshkonong
and upon this memory
a ball rolls
up to the sacred
excavations.
The golfers
play
among the corpses.
The oath is not more
newsworthy
than the government
of words
around the table
a Sunday
at home.
Everything keeps
a smell of milk
and clean house.
What is the role
of the water
pump
in a peacefuly day ?
It's raining.
The wind rises.
The river
softer
than the rain
falling
on the roof
lights up.
Water is everywhere
outside.
The window.
Always.
And what it shows
in a reduced space.
Couch.
Chair and table.
Bed. Floor.
Stove.
Enameled oven.
The memories are there
along the river
that moves on.
The window opposite
lights up the same objects
but in inverse order.
Space forms a square.
Four angles.
Grass is airy and
the trees –
witnesses.
A wild
bank retained
by stones.
Trunks. Branches.
Grass and pink
mushrooms.
The clouds are very low.
The pump has
certainly
captured History.
The radiator
bad weather.
This field in front of the landing
is very damp.
Dispossession
since it's natural
to flow
has value of nocturnal
transfers
of exchanges.
Children
well replace
trees.
© 2012, Norma Cole
From: A Woman with Several Lives
Publisher: 2012, La Presse/Fence Books, Iowa City & Paris
From: A Woman with Several Lives
Publisher: 2012, La Presse/Fence Books, Iowa City & Paris
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