Poem
Esther Jansma
PRESENCE
No more questions from me: from now on I am goingto know things. From now on she is not rose but julia
and her sleep is not the sleep of things.
From now on she can be known, I am going to live
a long long time with her in a house and feed her,
teach her to speak and she will tell me how it is
while she is always changing. Always using different words.
Sometimes I cut her hair. Then her head changes.
As for me, I change so slowly she will not notice:
when she is grown up
I will always have been old and happy.
© Translation: 2004, Francis R. Jones
AANWEZIGHEID
AANWEZIGHEID
Ik ben uitgevraagd. Vanaf nu ga ik dingen weten.Vanaf nu is zij geen roos maar julia
en is haar slaap niet de slaap van de dingen.
Vanaf nu kan zij gekend worden, ga ik heel lang
met haar in een huis wonen en haar eten geven,
leer ik haar praten en vertelt zij me hoe het is
terwijl ze steeds verandert. Steeds gebruikt ze andere woorden.
Soms knip ik haar haren. Dan verandert haar hoofd.
Zelf verander ik zo langzaam dat zij niets merkt,
wanneer zij groot is
ben ik altijd al oud en blij geweest.
© 2000, Esther Jansma
From: Dakruiters
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam
From: Dakruiters
Publisher: De Arbeiderspers, Amsterdam
Poems
Poems of Esther Jansma
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PRESENCE
No more questions from me: from now on I am goingto know things. From now on she is not rose but julia
and her sleep is not the sleep of things.
From now on she can be known, I am going to live
a long long time with her in a house and feed her,
teach her to speak and she will tell me how it is
while she is always changing. Always using different words.
Sometimes I cut her hair. Then her head changes.
As for me, I change so slowly she will not notice:
when she is grown up
I will always have been old and happy.
© 2004, Francis R. Jones
From: Dakruiters
From: Dakruiters
PRESENCE
No more questions from me: from now on I am goingto know things. From now on she is not rose but julia
and her sleep is not the sleep of things.
From now on she can be known, I am going to live
a long long time with her in a house and feed her,
teach her to speak and she will tell me how it is
while she is always changing. Always using different words.
Sometimes I cut her hair. Then her head changes.
As for me, I change so slowly she will not notice:
when she is grown up
I will always have been old and happy.
© 2004, Francis R. Jones
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