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.
© Translation: 2012, Willem Groenewegen
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.
© 2012, Albert Bontridder
From: Wonen in de vloed
Publisher: Poëziecentrum, Gent
From: Wonen in de vloed
Publisher: Poëziecentrum, Gent
Poems
Poems of Albert Bontridder
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.
© 2012, Willem Groenewegen
From: Wonen in de vloed
From: Wonen in de vloed
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.
© 2012, Willem Groenewegen
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