Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Albert Bontridder

THE UNTHINKABLE

It wants the grandest place
– the heavenly –
albeit not on the horizon,
neither between here and there
nor before, nor beside, nor behind
the borders of space.

Remain neutral
– this is the outline –
supple shell,
neither root nor egg,
moveable therefore, adaptable,
in the anonymous,
what is without reference,
mass in the department store,
at the railway station,
at the aerospace installation,
in the trail of automobiles
along the highway,
(anthropology of supermodernism)
in the bustle,
in haste,
globalising,
in motionless speed,
now, yonder, elsewhere,
circling information
everywhere and simultaneously, worldwide,
without coercion,
without necessity,
without a destination,
eroded knowledge,
fractured power,
indifferent,
free.

HET ONDENKBARE

HET ONDENKBARE

Het wil de grootste plek
– het hemelse –
doch niet aan de horizon,
noch tussen hier en daar,
noch vóór, noch naast, noch achter
de grenzen van de ruimte.

Onzijdig blijven
– dit is het schema –
soepele schelp,
wortel noch ei,
beweegbaar dus, aanpasbaar,
in het anonieme,
het referentieloze,
menigte in het grootwarenhuis,
in het spoorwegstation,
in de luchtvaartinstallatie,
in de sliert automobielen
langs de snelweg,
(antropologie van het supermodernisme)
in de drukte,
in de haast,
globaliserend,
in een bewegingloze snelheid,
nu, ginds, elders,
informatie cirkelend
overal en simultaan, wereldwijd,
zonder dwang,
zonder noodzaak
zonder bestemming,
uitgeholde kennis,
versplinterde macht,
onverschillig,
vrij.
Close

THE UNTHINKABLE

It wants the grandest place
– the heavenly –
albeit not on the horizon,
neither between here and there
nor before, nor beside, nor behind
the borders of space.

Remain neutral
– this is the outline –
supple shell,
neither root nor egg,
moveable therefore, adaptable,
in the anonymous,
what is without reference,
mass in the department store,
at the railway station,
at the aerospace installation,
in the trail of automobiles
along the highway,
(anthropology of supermodernism)
in the bustle,
in haste,
globalising,
in motionless speed,
now, yonder, elsewhere,
circling information
everywhere and simultaneously, worldwide,
without coercion,
without necessity,
without a destination,
eroded knowledge,
fractured power,
indifferent,
free.

THE UNTHINKABLE

It wants the grandest place
– the heavenly –
albeit not on the horizon,
neither between here and there
nor before, nor beside, nor behind
the borders of space.

Remain neutral
– this is the outline –
supple shell,
neither root nor egg,
moveable therefore, adaptable,
in the anonymous,
what is without reference,
mass in the department store,
at the railway station,
at the aerospace installation,
in the trail of automobiles
along the highway,
(anthropology of supermodernism)
in the bustle,
in haste,
globalising,
in motionless speed,
now, yonder, elsewhere,
circling information
everywhere and simultaneously, worldwide,
without coercion,
without necessity,
without a destination,
eroded knowledge,
fractured power,
indifferent,
free.
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