Poem
Arjen Duinker
First love
And in the belly of the boatThe story roams of a young woman
Who on one of the Canary Islands
Got to know an unhappy man,
Who survived thanks to the export of his tomatoes
And sang of his tomatoes in tearful songs.
And the woman, she learnt the songs to please the man,
And the woman, she gave his tomatoes a place in her life...
Yet the man grew angry over this and said:
‘Go back to your parents, go back to your street,
Find someone who guides tourists,
Who gives tennis lessons, who can dive well
Or likes to drive around in a flashy car.
My tomatoes have nothing to do with you.’
And the young woman daily stands there staring,
Staring into the distance, and sings songs
For all the tomato boats she does not see.
© Translation: 2003, Willem Groeneweg
Eerste liefde
Eerste liefde
En in de buik van de bootDwaalt het verhaal van een jonge vrouw
Die op een van de Canarische Eilanden
Een ongelukkige man leerde kennen,
Die leefde dankzij de uitvoer van zijn tomaten
En zijn tomaten in sombere liedjes bezong.
En de vrouw, ze leerde de liedjes om de man te plezieren,
En de vrouw, ze gaf zijn tomaten een plaats in haar leven…
Maar de man werd hier kwaad over en zei:
‘Ga terug naar je ouders, ga terug naar je straat,
Vind iemand anders die toeristen rondleidt,
Die tennisles geeft, die goed kan duiken
Of graag rondrijdt in een blinkende auto.
Bij mijn tomaten heb je niks te zoeken.’
En de jonge vrouw staat dagelijks te staren,
In de verte te staren, en zingt liedjes
Voor alle tomatenboten die ze niet ziet.
© 2003, Arjen Duinker
Publisher: First published on PIW,
Publisher: First published on PIW,
Poems
Poems of Arjen Duinker
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First love
And in the belly of the boatThe story roams of a young woman
Who on one of the Canary Islands
Got to know an unhappy man,
Who survived thanks to the export of his tomatoes
And sang of his tomatoes in tearful songs.
And the woman, she learnt the songs to please the man,
And the woman, she gave his tomatoes a place in her life...
Yet the man grew angry over this and said:
‘Go back to your parents, go back to your street,
Find someone who guides tourists,
Who gives tennis lessons, who can dive well
Or likes to drive around in a flashy car.
My tomatoes have nothing to do with you.’
And the young woman daily stands there staring,
Staring into the distance, and sings songs
For all the tomato boats she does not see.
© 2003, Willem Groeneweg
First love
And in the belly of the boatThe story roams of a young woman
Who on one of the Canary Islands
Got to know an unhappy man,
Who survived thanks to the export of his tomatoes
And sang of his tomatoes in tearful songs.
And the woman, she learnt the songs to please the man,
And the woman, she gave his tomatoes a place in her life...
Yet the man grew angry over this and said:
‘Go back to your parents, go back to your street,
Find someone who guides tourists,
Who gives tennis lessons, who can dive well
Or likes to drive around in a flashy car.
My tomatoes have nothing to do with you.’
And the young woman daily stands there staring,
Staring into the distance, and sings songs
For all the tomato boats she does not see.
© 2003, Willem Groeneweg
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