Carl-Christian Elze
13.8 billion years ago
13.8 billion years ago, in the first billionth of a
billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second
our universe ballooned by ten billion
billion times: from subatomic dimensions
to the size of a soccer ball, so they say in april
of the year 2014. our love was already etched
in that big bang ball, but first, suns
planets and moons, the whole gravity thing
had to kick in, that takes a little while, my love.
our sphere of slapped-together stardust
wasn’t solid right away: but then came cells
under water: lone, prancing, not yet mortal
life forms, endless divisions, pinched plasma:
one split cleanly in two, no waste. after a while colonies
multi-cellular organisms, the invention of the corpse: volvox,
the spherical algae, was the first to lose her life,
her body exploding at her daughters’ birth.
corpses everywhere! – but plants don’t lose their
nerves, do they my love .. not at all like we do.
just think PLANTS! no love without them.
like divine servants they bestow sugar and air.
then animals appear: fish and dinosaurs, mollusks
and birds, gills and lungs, the first drops of milk
to flow from teats, the first mammals:
little shadow creatures, whooshing bodies ..
yes, we too still needed to take form
my love: apes and people, billions of
people, lucy and ötzi, broken down over and over again
after just a few years by bacteria and fungus
(in a handful of dirt or your beautiful
shapely mouth there are more bacteria
than the number of people who’ve ever walked the earth
at least that’s what they say in april of the year 2014)
finally it’s us: with big brains, hardly any fur
drinking milk and coming of age, almost without instinct:
we learn and learn, survive and find
each other at last, recognize each other at last
in the middle of the night, on a street in
munich, under a shot-out streetlight
and suddenly we feel – mysteriously
absurdly – indestructible and laugh
and our laughter races around the sun, you already know,
like crazy happy dust ..
13,8 miljard jaar geleden
13,8 miljard jaar geleden, in het eerste miljardste
van een miljardste van een miljardste seconde
blies ons universum zich tien-biljoen-biljoenvoudig
op: van subatomaire dimensies tot de omvang
van een voetbal, zo wordt gesteld in april
anno 2014. in deze oerknalbal was onze liefde
al ingegraveerd, maar daarvoor nog zonnen
planeten en manen, dat hele zwaartekrachtding
moest even wennen, liefste, dat duurt een poosje.
ook onze bol, samengepapt uit sterrenstof
was niet meteen vast; maar op een gegeven moment cellen
onder water; aparte, danserige, nog onsterfelijke
vormen, eeuwige delingen, plasmavernauwingen:
uit een wordt twee zonder rest. pas later samenkomsten
veel rijene cellen, de uitvinding van het lijk: volvox
het bolvormige wier, moest er als eerste aan geloven
het barstte toen de dochters geboren werden.
overal lijken! – maar planten bewaren altijd
hun zenuwen, liefste, nietwaar… heel anders dan wij.
sowieso PLANTEN! zonder planten geen liefde.
als goddelijke dienaars serveren ze suiker en lucht.
dieren verschijnen: vissen en sauriërs, weekdieren
en vogels, kiemen en longen, de eerste melk
die uit de uiers drupt, de eerste zuigers:
onopvallende kleine, wegschietende objecten…
en ook wij moesten in vorm gebracht worden
liefste: apen en mensen, miljarden mensen,
lucy en ötzi, steeds maar weer ontleed
na luttele jaren van bacterieën en zwammen
(in een handjevol aarde of in jouw wonderschoon
gewelfde mond leven meer bacterieën dan er
ooit mensen op deze wereld rondgewandeld
hebben, zo wordt gesteld in april anno 2014)
wij ten slotte: met grote hersens, nauwelijks vel
drinken melk en groeien op, haast zonder instinct:
we leren en leren, overleven en vinden
elkaar ten slotte, herkennen elkaar ten slotte
midden in de nacht, in een straat in
münchen, onder kapotgeschoten lantaarns
en voelen ons plotseling – onverklaarbaar
genoeg gek genoeg – onverwoestbaar en lachen
en ons lachen raast rond de zon, je weet wel
als waanzinnig, gelukkig stof…
vor 13.8 milliarden jahren, im ersten milliardstel eines
milliardstels eines milliardstels einer milliardstel sekunde
blähte sich unser universum um das zehn-billionen-
billionen-fache auf: von subatomaren dimensionen
zu der größe eines fußballs, so sagt man im april
des jahres 2014. in diesen urknallball war unsere liebe
schon eingraviert, aber vorher noch sonnen
planeten und monde, das ganze schwerkraftding
musste sich einschaukeln, liebes, das dauert ein bisschen.
auch unsere kugel, aus sternenstaub zusammengepappt
war nicht gleich fest; doch irgendwann zellen
unter wasser: einzelne, tänzelnde, noch unsterbliche
gebilde, ewige teilungen, plasmaeinschnürungen:
aus eins wird zwei ohne rest. erst später zusammenkünfte
vielzellereien, die erfindung der leiche: volvox
die kugelalge, muss als erste dran glauben
ihr körper gesprengt bei der geburt ihrer töchter.
überall leichen! – aber pflanzen behalten immer die
nerven, liebes, nicht wahr .. ganz anders als wir.
überhaupt PFLANZEN! ohne sie keine liebe.
wie göttliche diener verschenken sie zucker und luft.
tiere erscheinen: fische und saurier, mollusken
und vögel, kiemen und lungen, die erste milch
die aus den zitzen tropft, die ersten säuger:
unauffällige kleingewachsene, huschende objekte ..
und auch wir mussten erst in form gebracht werden
liebes: affen und menschen, milliarden von
menschen, lucy und ötzi, immer wieder zerlegt
nach wenigen jahren von bakterien und pilzen
(in einer handvoll erde oder in deinem wunderschön
geschwungenen mund leben mehr bakterien
als jemals menschen auf dieser welt herumspaziert
sind, so sagt man im april des jahres 2014)
schließlich wir: mit großen gehirnen, kaum fell
trinken milch und wachsen heran, fast ohne instinkte:
wir lernen und lernen, überleben und finden
uns schließlich, erkennen uns schließlich
mitten in der nacht, auf einer straße in
münchen, unter zerschossenen laternen
und fühlen uns plötzlich – unerklärlicherweise
albernerweise – unzerstörbar und lachen
und unser lachen rast um die sonne, du weißt schon
wie wahnsinniger, glücklicher staub ..
From: diese kleinen, in der luft hängenden, bergpredigenden gebilde
Publisher: Verlagshaus Berlin, Berlin
13.8 billion years ago
13.8 billion years ago, in the first billionth of a
billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second
our universe ballooned by ten billion
billion times: from subatomic dimensions
to the size of a soccer ball, so they say in april
of the year 2014. our love was already etched
in that big bang ball, but first, suns
planets and moons, the whole gravity thing
had to kick in, that takes a little while, my love.
our sphere of slapped-together stardust
wasn’t solid right away: but then came cells
under water: lone, prancing, not yet mortal
life forms, endless divisions, pinched plasma:
one split cleanly in two, no waste. after a while colonies
multi-cellular organisms, the invention of the corpse: volvox,
the spherical algae, was the first to lose her life,
her body exploding at her daughters’ birth.
corpses everywhere! – but plants don’t lose their
nerves, do they my love .. not at all like we do.
just think PLANTS! no love without them.
like divine servants they bestow sugar and air.
then animals appear: fish and dinosaurs, mollusks
and birds, gills and lungs, the first drops of milk
to flow from teats, the first mammals:
little shadow creatures, whooshing bodies ..
yes, we too still needed to take form
my love: apes and people, billions of
people, lucy and ötzi, broken down over and over again
after just a few years by bacteria and fungus
(in a handful of dirt or your beautiful
shapely mouth there are more bacteria
than the number of people who’ve ever walked the earth
at least that’s what they say in april of the year 2014)
finally it’s us: with big brains, hardly any fur
drinking milk and coming of age, almost without instinct:
we learn and learn, survive and find
each other at last, recognize each other at last
in the middle of the night, on a street in
munich, under a shot-out streetlight
and suddenly we feel – mysteriously
absurdly – indestructible and laugh
and our laughter races around the sun, you already know,
like crazy happy dust ..
From: diese kleinen, in der luft hängenden, bergpredigenden gebilde
13.8 billion years ago
13.8 billion years ago, in the first billionth of a
billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second
our universe ballooned by ten billion
billion times: from subatomic dimensions
to the size of a soccer ball, so they say in april
of the year 2014. our love was already etched
in that big bang ball, but first, suns
planets and moons, the whole gravity thing
had to kick in, that takes a little while, my love.
our sphere of slapped-together stardust
wasn’t solid right away: but then came cells
under water: lone, prancing, not yet mortal
life forms, endless divisions, pinched plasma:
one split cleanly in two, no waste. after a while colonies
multi-cellular organisms, the invention of the corpse: volvox,
the spherical algae, was the first to lose her life,
her body exploding at her daughters’ birth.
corpses everywhere! – but plants don’t lose their
nerves, do they my love .. not at all like we do.
just think PLANTS! no love without them.
like divine servants they bestow sugar and air.
then animals appear: fish and dinosaurs, mollusks
and birds, gills and lungs, the first drops of milk
to flow from teats, the first mammals:
little shadow creatures, whooshing bodies ..
yes, we too still needed to take form
my love: apes and people, billions of
people, lucy and ötzi, broken down over and over again
after just a few years by bacteria and fungus
(in a handful of dirt or your beautiful
shapely mouth there are more bacteria
than the number of people who’ve ever walked the earth
at least that’s what they say in april of the year 2014)
finally it’s us: with big brains, hardly any fur
drinking milk and coming of age, almost without instinct:
we learn and learn, survive and find
each other at last, recognize each other at last
in the middle of the night, on a street in
munich, under a shot-out streetlight
and suddenly we feel – mysteriously
absurdly – indestructible and laugh
and our laughter races around the sun, you already know,
like crazy happy dust ..
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