Nachoem M. Wijnberg

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SONG

Now and then silence
without being sure
if the song goes on,
not daring to say
what I actually want.

I touch you
while listening,
if you weren’t here
I couldn’t listen
to a song like this.

LIEDJE

Af en toe een stilte
zonder dat zeker is
of het liedje verder hoeft,
niet durven zeggen
wat ik eigenlijk wil.

Ik raak je aan
terwijl ik luister,
als jij er niet was
kon ik niet naar
een liedje als dit luisteren.

Nachoem M. Wijnberg

(The Netherlands, 1961)

One ought to be able to say of a poem: it begins well but by line seven it becomes a false claim – according to Nachoem M. Wijnberg, one of the Netherlands’ preeminent living poets. He also once said that a child of twelve could understand his poems. Correspondingly, in his phrasing, he seeks clarity and validity. Perhaps this evokes ideas of simplicity and straightforwardness, but that is not ...

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Poems of Nachoem M. Wijnberg

SONG

Now and then silence
without being sure
if the song goes on,
not daring to say
what I actually want.

I touch you
while listening,
if you weren’t here
I couldn’t listen
to a song like this.

SONG

Now and then silence
without being sure
if the song goes on,
not daring to say
what I actually want.

I touch you
while listening,
if you weren’t here
I couldn’t listen
to a song like this.