Tonnus Oosterhoff

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I was witness

I was witness,
o green tree, the green tree
how the cantor embarked on his stone throw
through a rift in the warped universe.
Also, I was witness to the stone
at a throw’s distance.

Ik was getuige

Ik was getuige,
o groene boom, de groene boom,
hoe de voorzanger door een spleet
in het kromgetrokken heelal
zijn steenworp ondernam.
Ook was ik getuige van de steen
op een worp afstand.

From: Ware Grootte
Publisher: De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam

Tonnus Oosterhoff

(The Netherlands, 1953)

The son of a rural hospital chaplain, Tonnus Oosterhoff studied at the University of Groningen. Recognized as a leading contemporary poet in the Netherlands, Oosterhoff lives in the remote northern flatlands where he writes with a view of ‘a dyke (7 cm), sky (155 cm)’.

Working from diverse sources – local anecdotes, newspaper articles, canonical poems – Oosterhoff’s innovative poetry is noted fo...

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I was witness

I was witness,
o green tree, the green tree
how the cantor embarked on his stone throw
through a rift in the warped universe.
Also, I was witness to the stone
at a throw’s distance.

From: Ware Grootte

I was witness

I was witness,
o green tree, the green tree
how the cantor embarked on his stone throw
through a rift in the warped universe.
Also, I was witness to the stone
at a throw’s distance.