Poem
Jos De Haes
DUSK III
A dwarf bat flaps glumlypast the stable,
the little nettle by the cesspit
now makes its sugar with the air,
and on the wash line camomile hangs
with mint, with lime, becoming tea.
Those who, Israel-bound, fly over Greece,
ten thousand metres high and in the sun
see brown Euboia still separate from Attica.
Hereandnow,
hereandnow on the tarmac
two thin women’s heels tap
as if in the calcium of shoulder blade bone.
Wherever does the female praying mantis
now suck dry the head
of her ejaculating mate,
or does a deep-sea snake
cast off its old entrails for new?
While the canton’s breeding ram
two long meadows away
butts the door of a wrecked car,
and all the gnawers creep out of their holes,
furry, shiny, warm and globular,
hereandnow then
all traps have been set,
every woman’s murdered her husband,
will before night falls
change my blood,
and I know today already
who I was not,
although well-known, by air
by water, fire and darkness known.
© Translation: 2007, Paul Vincent
Avondschemering III
Avondschemering III
Een dwergvleermuis vlerkt zuiniglangs de stal,
de kleine netel bij de beerput
maakt nu haar suiker met de lucht,
en aan de waslijn hangt kamille
met munt, met linde thee te worden.
Wie over Hellas vliegt naar Israël,
tienduizend hoog en in de zon,
ziet bruin Euboia nog van Attika gescheiden.
Hiernumaals,
hiernumaals op het makadam
tikken twee dunne vrouwenhakken
als in de kalk van schouderbladskelet.
Waar ergens vreet de bidsprinkhaanse
nu de kop leeg
van haar zaadlozende haan,
of stoot een diepzeeslak
haar oude ingewanden af voor nieuwe?
Terwijl de fokram van ’t kanton
twee lange weiden verder
tegen ’t portier beukt van een autowrak,
en alle knagers uit hun holen kruipen,
pelzig, glanzend, warm en kogelrond,
hiernumaals dan
zijn alle vallen gezet,
heeft elke vrouw haar man vermoord,
zal eer het nacht wordt
mijn bloed veranderen,
en weet ik nog vandaag
wie ik niet ben geweest,
hoewel bekend, bij lucht,
bij water, vuur en donkerte bekend.
© 1964, The Estate of Jos De Haes
From: Gedichten
Publisher: Lannoo/Atlas, Tielt/Amsterdam
From: Gedichten
Publisher: Lannoo/Atlas, Tielt/Amsterdam
Poems
Poems of Jos De Haes
Close
DUSK III
A dwarf bat flaps glumlypast the stable,
the little nettle by the cesspit
now makes its sugar with the air,
and on the wash line camomile hangs
with mint, with lime, becoming tea.
Those who, Israel-bound, fly over Greece,
ten thousand metres high and in the sun
see brown Euboia still separate from Attica.
Hereandnow,
hereandnow on the tarmac
two thin women’s heels tap
as if in the calcium of shoulder blade bone.
Wherever does the female praying mantis
now suck dry the head
of her ejaculating mate,
or does a deep-sea snake
cast off its old entrails for new?
While the canton’s breeding ram
two long meadows away
butts the door of a wrecked car,
and all the gnawers creep out of their holes,
furry, shiny, warm and globular,
hereandnow then
all traps have been set,
every woman’s murdered her husband,
will before night falls
change my blood,
and I know today already
who I was not,
although well-known, by air
by water, fire and darkness known.
© 2007, Paul Vincent
From: Gedichten
From: Gedichten
DUSK III
A dwarf bat flaps glumlypast the stable,
the little nettle by the cesspit
now makes its sugar with the air,
and on the wash line camomile hangs
with mint, with lime, becoming tea.
Those who, Israel-bound, fly over Greece,
ten thousand metres high and in the sun
see brown Euboia still separate from Attica.
Hereandnow,
hereandnow on the tarmac
two thin women’s heels tap
as if in the calcium of shoulder blade bone.
Wherever does the female praying mantis
now suck dry the head
of her ejaculating mate,
or does a deep-sea snake
cast off its old entrails for new?
While the canton’s breeding ram
two long meadows away
butts the door of a wrecked car,
and all the gnawers creep out of their holes,
furry, shiny, warm and globular,
hereandnow then
all traps have been set,
every woman’s murdered her husband,
will before night falls
change my blood,
and I know today already
who I was not,
although well-known, by air
by water, fire and darkness known.
© 2007, Paul Vincent
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