Poem
Rutger Kopland
Dog and hand
Dog, it comes and it comes so terriblyclose, your face, my hand
while the space grows and grows around us
to lose each other in, lose
do not look at me with a glance
do not look at me with a question like
leave me, stay with me even if you let me go
I don’t want to see it, but I must,
this painting says
I see the creases in your dirty coat
your clouded eye, the caves in your snout
your night-black muzzle
from far too close now
and my old hand, my own
still vulnerable living hand, its fingers,
the veins across the back of it,
from far too close now
I don’t want to see it, but I must,
how that dog and that hand
alter into hundreds of others,
how we are them
no longer
Hond en hand
Hond en hand
Hond, het komt en het komt zo verschrikkelijkdichtbij, je gezicht, mijn hand
terwijl de ruimte groeit en groeit om elkaar
in te verliezen, te verliezen
kijk me niet aan met een blik
kijk me niet aan met een vraag van:
laat me, blijf bij me, ook als je me laat gaan
ik wil het niet zien maar het moet
zegt dit schilderij
ik zie de plooien in je vuile huid
je melkglazen oog, de spelonken van je snuit
je nachtzwarte muil
van veel te dichtbij nu
en mijn oude hand, mijn eigen
nog breekbaar levende hand, zijn vingers,
zijn geaderde rug
van veel te dichtbij nu
ik wil het niet zien, maar het moet,
hoe die hond en die hand
in honderden andere
veranderen, hoe wij dat
niet meer zijn
© 1997, G.A. van Oorschot
From: Tot het ons loslaat
Publisher: G.A. van Oorschot,
From: Tot het ons loslaat
Publisher: G.A. van Oorschot,
Poems
Poems of Rutger Kopland
Close
Dog and hand
Dog, it comes and it comes so terriblyclose, your face, my hand
while the space grows and grows around us
to lose each other in, lose
do not look at me with a glance
do not look at me with a question like
leave me, stay with me even if you let me go
I don’t want to see it, but I must,
this painting says
I see the creases in your dirty coat
your clouded eye, the caves in your snout
your night-black muzzle
from far too close now
and my old hand, my own
still vulnerable living hand, its fingers,
the veins across the back of it,
from far too close now
I don’t want to see it, but I must,
how that dog and that hand
alter into hundreds of others,
how we are them
no longer
From: Tot het ons loslaat
Dog and hand
Dog, it comes and it comes so terriblyclose, your face, my hand
while the space grows and grows around us
to lose each other in, lose
do not look at me with a glance
do not look at me with a question like
leave me, stay with me even if you let me go
I don’t want to see it, but I must,
this painting says
I see the creases in your dirty coat
your clouded eye, the caves in your snout
your night-black muzzle
from far too close now
and my old hand, my own
still vulnerable living hand, its fingers,
the veins across the back of it,
from far too close now
I don’t want to see it, but I must,
how that dog and that hand
alter into hundreds of others,
how we are them
no longer
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