Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Kim Moore

In Another Life

In een ander leven

En ik voel dat ik jou in een ander leven moet hebben gekend –
misschien waren we broers die elkaar liefhadden of haatten
of misschien waren we buren, voorbestemd om samen oud te worden
of vreemden die elkaar toeknikten in het voorbijgaan op straat
of misschien was één van ons een koning en de ander bij het leger
en ontmoetten onze ogen elkaar bij een routinecontrole
of misschien waren we soldaten die voor elkaar zouden sterven,
misschien waren we de laatste twee sprekers van een kleine taal,
meschain was ik n baist op n boerderij en wastoe n blonde knecht,
misschien vluchtten we samen naar Amerika, of misschien waren we
mijnwerkers die hielden van onze gele kanaries, misschien was jij
de kanarie wel en voelde ik het kloppen van jouw hart in mijn handpalm,
misschien was jij een verpleegster en was ik jouw lievelingspatiënt,
misschien werden we begraven op een heuvel, stonden we zij aan zij.

In Another Life

And I feel that in another life, I must have known you –
maybe we were brothers who loved or hated one another
or maybe we were neighbours destined to grow old together
or strangers who nod hello when passing in the street
or maybe one of us was a king, and the other in the army
and on a routine inspection our eyes just met
or maybe we were soldiers who would die for one another,
maybe we were the last two speakers of a minority language,
maybe I was a farm animal and you were a fair-haired farmhand,
maybe we ran away to America together, or maybe we
were miners and loved our yellow canaries, maybe you
were the canary and I felt your heart beating on my palm,
maybe you were a nurse and I was your favourite patient,
maybe we were buried on a hill, standing side by side.
Close

In Another Life

And I feel that in another life, I must have known you –
maybe we were brothers who loved or hated one another
or maybe we were neighbours destined to grow old together
or strangers who nod hello when passing in the street
or maybe one of us was a king, and the other in the army
and on a routine inspection our eyes just met
or maybe we were soldiers who would die for one another,
maybe we were the last two speakers of a minority language,
maybe I was a farm animal and you were a fair-haired farmhand,
maybe we ran away to America together, or maybe we
were miners and loved our yellow canaries, maybe you
were the canary and I felt your heart beating on my palm,
maybe you were a nurse and I was your favourite patient,
maybe we were buried on a hill, standing side by side.

In Another Life

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