Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Willem Jan Otten

*

Forced apart they swim towards each other,
always in the same valley of sea
drawn between the swells
of two waves following each other.

Sometimes she disappears out of view
engulfed by the same swell
that’s raising him and now at the top
he sees her in the depths
in the quiet lee
and she climbs with calm strokes –
and he is now lost to her sight.

They take place in the same valley of time.
Their vanishing keeps the other alive.

*

*

Ze zwemmen uit elkaar gedreven naar elkaar,
steeds in hetzelfde dal van zee
getrokken tussen twee elkaar te volgen golven.

Soms verdwijnt zij uit zijn blik
verzwolgen door dezelfde golf
die hem nu tilt en bovenaan
ziet hij haar in de diepte,
in de luwe stilte,
en zij klimt met kalme slag omhoog –
en nu is hij verloren uit haar oog.

Zij spelen in één dal van tijd.
Zij leven op elkaars verdwenen zijn.
Close

*

Forced apart they swim towards each other,
always in the same valley of sea
drawn between the swells
of two waves following each other.

Sometimes she disappears out of view
engulfed by the same swell
that’s raising him and now at the top
he sees her in the depths
in the quiet lee
and she climbs with calm strokes –
and he is now lost to her sight.

They take place in the same valley of time.
Their vanishing keeps the other alive.

*

Forced apart they swim towards each other,
always in the same valley of sea
drawn between the swells
of two waves following each other.

Sometimes she disappears out of view
engulfed by the same swell
that’s raising him and now at the top
he sees her in the depths
in the quiet lee
and she climbs with calm strokes –
and he is now lost to her sight.

They take place in the same valley of time.
Their vanishing keeps the other alive.
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