Poem
Arjen Duinker
La Lanterna
Is it cruel to eat,To eat what someone makes up,
Who has come from the mountains
To trade a raw flower?
Is it cruel to drink,
To drink what someone pours,
Who never in a kitchen corner
Dreams of truth and lies?
I called home, this morning,
Hugged my wife, whispered
In my daughter’s ear:
"Have fun, my love, have fun"
And felt proud
Like the city around me
When a bird in the distance
Repeated my words.
Is it cruel to laugh,
To laugh with Yang Lian about suicide,
Jokes with secret policemen and shops,
Mongolian songs, crocodiles and self-conceit?
Four hundred streets ran up to the sea.
Some started at a table,
Others set off from a chair.
Dustcarts and scooters tore across
Zebra crossings, while a black sky
Repeated our words.
© Translation: 2002, Willem Groenewegen
From: The Sublime Song of a Maybe
Publisher: Arc Publications, Todmorden, 2002
From: The Sublime Song of a Maybe
Publisher: Arc Publications, Todmorden, 2002
La Lanterna
La Lanterna
Is het wreed om te eten,Te eten wat iemand verzint,
Die uit de bergen is gekomen
Om een rauwe bloem te ruilen?
Is het wreed om te drinken,
Te drinken wat iemand schenkt,
Die nooit in een hoek van de keuken
Droomt van waarheid en leugen?
Ik belde naar huis, vanochtend,
Omhelsde mijn vrouw, fluisterde
In het oor van mijn dochtertje:
‘Veel plezier, lieve schat, veel plezier’
En voelde me trots
Als de stad om me heen
Toen een vogel in de verte
Mijn woorden herhaalde.
Is het wreed om te lachen,
Te lachen met Yang Lian om zelfmoord,
Grappen met geheime politie en winkels,
Mongoolse liedjes, krokodillen, eigendunk?
Vierhonderd straten liepen tot aan de zee.
Sommige begonnen bij een tafel,
Andere vertrokken van een stoel.
Vuilniswagens en scooters scheurden
Over zebrapaden, terwijl een zwarte lucht
Onze woorden herhaalde.
© 2000, Arjen Duinker
From: De geschiedenis van een opsomming. Gedichten
Publisher: J.M. Meulenhoff bv, Amsterdam
From: De geschiedenis van een opsomming. Gedichten
Publisher: J.M. Meulenhoff bv, Amsterdam
Poems
Poems of Arjen Duinker
Close
La Lanterna
Is it cruel to eat,To eat what someone makes up,
Who has come from the mountains
To trade a raw flower?
Is it cruel to drink,
To drink what someone pours,
Who never in a kitchen corner
Dreams of truth and lies?
I called home, this morning,
Hugged my wife, whispered
In my daughter’s ear:
"Have fun, my love, have fun"
And felt proud
Like the city around me
When a bird in the distance
Repeated my words.
Is it cruel to laugh,
To laugh with Yang Lian about suicide,
Jokes with secret policemen and shops,
Mongolian songs, crocodiles and self-conceit?
Four hundred streets ran up to the sea.
Some started at a table,
Others set off from a chair.
Dustcarts and scooters tore across
Zebra crossings, while a black sky
Repeated our words.
© 2002, Willem Groenewegen
From: The Sublime Song of a Maybe
Publisher: 2002, Arc Publications, Todmorden
From: The Sublime Song of a Maybe
Publisher: 2002, Arc Publications, Todmorden
La Lanterna
Is it cruel to eat,To eat what someone makes up,
Who has come from the mountains
To trade a raw flower?
Is it cruel to drink,
To drink what someone pours,
Who never in a kitchen corner
Dreams of truth and lies?
I called home, this morning,
Hugged my wife, whispered
In my daughter’s ear:
"Have fun, my love, have fun"
And felt proud
Like the city around me
When a bird in the distance
Repeated my words.
Is it cruel to laugh,
To laugh with Yang Lian about suicide,
Jokes with secret policemen and shops,
Mongolian songs, crocodiles and self-conceit?
Four hundred streets ran up to the sea.
Some started at a table,
Others set off from a chair.
Dustcarts and scooters tore across
Zebra crossings, while a black sky
Repeated our words.
© 2002, Willem Groenewegen
From: The Sublime Song of a Maybe
Publisher: 2002, Arc Publications, Todmorden
From: The Sublime Song of a Maybe
Publisher: 2002, Arc Publications, Todmorden
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