Athena Farrokhzad
"Is there a loss that only is bearable"
Is there a loss that only is bearable
if you forget that the dead had bodies
I put photos up and take them down
cannot decide what is most excruciating
Did I get anything, my daughter asks, from your brothers who are dead
I take out a little bag of ketchup and an owl made of papier-mâché
When they died, I say, I started to call them brothers
here, they think cousin means stranger
They were my closest family if family is what binds history to future
I followed them to the underworld and nearly remained
And then, then I had you
"Bestaat er verlies dat enkel leefbaar is"
Bestaat er verlies dat enkel leefbaar is
als je vergeet dat de doden een lichaam hadden
Ik zet foto’s neer en haal ze weer weg
Kan niet beslissen wat het meest ondraaglijk is
Heb ik iets, vraagt mijn dochter, van je broers die dood zijn
Ik pak een zakje ketchup en een uil in papier-maché
Toen ze stierven, zeg ik, ging ik ze broeders noemen
hier denken ze dat neef vreemdeling betekent
Ze waren mijn meest naaste familie als familie
datgene is wat geschiedenis verbindt met toekomst
Ik volgde hen naar de onderwereld en bleef daar bijna
En toen, toen kreeg ik jullie
From: Een witte suite
Publisher: 2018, Perdu, Amsterdam
"Finns det förlust som bara är levbar"
Finns det förlust som bara är levbar
om man glömmer att de döda haft kroppar
Jag sätter upp fotografier och tar ner dem
kan inte avgöra vad som är mest outhärdligt
Har jag fått något, frågar min dotter, från dina bröder som är döda
Jag tar fram en påse ketchup och en uggla i papier maché
När de dog, säger jag, började jag kalla dem bröder
här tror de att kusin betyder främling
De var min närmaste familj om familj
är det som binder ihop historia med framtid
Jag följde dem till underjorden och blev nästan kvar
Och sen, sen fick jag er
Athena Farrokhzad
The work of poet, playwright, translator and literary critic Athena Farrokhzad boils with rage, but it also resonates with concern, as one constantly gives way to the other. She believes that stories are the only legacy that really matters. Family therefore plays a key role in her work, as in her extraordinary collection White Blight, in which a family confronts the past in conversations about ...
"Is there a loss that only is bearable"
Is there a loss that only is bearable
if you forget that the dead had bodies
I put photos up and take them down
cannot decide what is most excruciating
Did I get anything, my daughter asks, from your brothers who are dead
I take out a little bag of ketchup and an owl made of papier-mâché
When they died, I say, I started to call them brothers
here, they think cousin means stranger
They were my closest family if family is what binds history to future
I followed them to the underworld and nearly remained
And then, then I had you
"Is there a loss that only is bearable"
Is there a loss that only is bearable
if you forget that the dead had bodies
I put photos up and take them down
cannot decide what is most excruciating
Did I get anything, my daughter asks, from your brothers who are dead
I take out a little bag of ketchup and an owl made of papier-mâché
When they died, I say, I started to call them brothers
here, they think cousin means stranger
They were my closest family if family is what binds history to future
I followed them to the underworld and nearly remained
And then, then I had you
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