Poetry International Poetry International
Gedicht

Thomas McCarthy

HOW TO RECOGNISE YOUR LOVER

HOW TO RECOGNISE YOUR LOVER

HOW TO RECOGNISE YOUR LOVER

The name of a lover sparkles with voltage;
just before the rendezvous the beat is quickened,
held back by a fraction, now changed a little.
Eyes blink in the oceanic light of the sea villages;
your thoughts, a taut bow snapping suddenly.

This is what new love releases –
the enlarged odor of the broad lime tree,
milk of late meadows, nakedness in its pod.
It is the privets’ odour behind each house
where secrets are revealed.
It is low light with the patience of spiders.

Suddenly, the clarity of youth in the care-worn dunes:
words shoot into your mind, words long forgotten.
Here, even the standards of Maria Callas are attainable;
for you, the youthful cantilena –
eternally you will walk the long path, hand in hand.
O, soft light on robust paths of manful grass. O!
upon docile duckweeds, the cows’ prudence.
Thomas McCarthy

Thomas McCarthy

(Ierland, 1954)

Landen

Ontdek andere dichters en gedichten uit Ierland

Gedichten Dichters

Talen

Ontdek andere dichters en gedichten in het Engels

Gedichten Dichters
Close

HOW TO RECOGNISE YOUR LOVER

The name of a lover sparkles with voltage;
just before the rendezvous the beat is quickened,
held back by a fraction, now changed a little.
Eyes blink in the oceanic light of the sea villages;
your thoughts, a taut bow snapping suddenly.

This is what new love releases –
the enlarged odor of the broad lime tree,
milk of late meadows, nakedness in its pod.
It is the privets’ odour behind each house
where secrets are revealed.
It is low light with the patience of spiders.

Suddenly, the clarity of youth in the care-worn dunes:
words shoot into your mind, words long forgotten.
Here, even the standards of Maria Callas are attainable;
for you, the youthful cantilena –
eternally you will walk the long path, hand in hand.
O, soft light on robust paths of manful grass. O!
upon docile duckweeds, the cows’ prudence.

HOW TO RECOGNISE YOUR LOVER

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère