Sissal Kampmann

Extracts from a forthcoming collection of poems

English translations by Gordon Walmsley

Sissal Kampmann was born and grew up in the Faroe Islands. She was awarded Denmark's premier prize for new poets, the Klaus Rifbjerg Debutant Prize in 2012. The author divides her time between the Faroe Islands and Copenhagen.

We bring excerpts, in English and in Danish, from 4 D, a poetic sequence written in Faroese and published in 2013 by Forlaget Eksil. The book is divided into four sections, 1) Death 2) Dreams 3) Quotidian and 4) Mortal Sins, through which a continuous poem, in sections, is allowed to flow.

If T.S. Eliot needed footnotes to inform us that his Waste Land had something to do with the Holy Grail, we feel justified in elucidating the ”breast of duck”, as a grotesque attribute of our times. SK has made clear, in conversation, that she finds it somewhat unsettling that we are today able to purchase ”parts of animals”, something relatively new in the long history of civilizing human beings. We are able to walk into a supermarket and decide whether we would like a breast or a leg or a liver. A heart.

That the dismemberment of animals for personal consumption, the isolation of a breast of a duck resonates with the author's experience of her own form of dissection is the prerogative of this marvelous poet.

As the symbol, or dissected concept, breast of duck, moves through the collection like a silent fish, we bring the first poem of the book (where the image first appears) in advance of the sections we have chosen.

We mark the excerpts with the A4 pages, corresponding to their placement in the collection. In Danish and in English.

GW



1-5

Så var han her igen
ham der
døden.

Han kommer altid
når jeg køber ind
eller når jeg sidder og ordner
regnskaber
for de år
der er gået.

Så jeg smider løg, tomater, vindruer
og den billigste mælk
i kurven

Kroppen er et lukket
kredsløb.

Ved akkurat
hvad jeg skal
have
hvornår jeg skal gå
ligeud
til højre
til venstre
rundt om mig
selv
og hvornår jeg skal lukke
øjnene.

Går hurtigt forbi rengøringsmidlerne
citronsyre, afløbsrens, klorin, vinduespuds, stålsvampe
rensLET
og skinnende, nye, lyserøde
vaskeklude.

De gamle brugte skal jo skiftes ud.

Vaskes, *** ja, men der er en grænse.
For
alting.

Husk:
Klude bliver også beskidte
slidte.

Jeg ser ham alligevel.

Ser ham stige op fra køledisken
hvor han har gemt sig
mellem edamamebønner
urter og frosne hindbær
der ødelægger leveren
hurtigere end den billige rødvin på hylden
med de endnu billigere løsninger.

Ser ham
inde i det frosne andebryst
som jeg har mistanke om
har en direkte forbindelse
til mit
hjerte.
Chakra.
Abra
kadabra.

Sesam, sesam.

Mellem den røgede laks og ørreden
tunfisken, silden
og alt det andet
der engang svømmede med mig
ligger han og tror
at jeg ikke opdager ham.

Men han findes ikke
mellem alt det hvide.

Der dufter af æbler
hvor vi to sover.

Endnu.

Han gemmer sig bag
hylderne med økologiske varer
foran blege mødre med barnevognes
ansigter
skrøbelige mænd i ternede skjorter
og matte øjne.

Ser de noget
eller er det blot morsomt at tvivle på
om der er noget her
der har interesse?

Jeg ser døden
købe ind i Føtex
sammen med mig.

Passiv og doven.
Irriterende og pågående.

Kunne han om ikke andet
hjælpe mig med at betale varerne
måske have givet mig en hånd med at slæbe dem hjem
op ad de stejle trapper
hvor den gamle dame aldrig længere dukker op?

Jamen, jeg sagde at alting skal skiftes ud.

Måske skulle jeg købe indkøbstasken med hjul
den, vi alle elsker at hade.

Jeg vil have den i sort lak.

For at være fri for at blive mindet om
hvor meget jeg hader at købe ind alene
hvor meget jeg hader at nyde at synes det er synd for mig
at tænke netop denne sætning.


1-5

Well, he was here once more,
you know,
Death.

He always comes
when I'm grocery shopping
or when I'm settling
my accounts
for the year
that has passed.

I throw onions, tomatoes, grapes
and the cheapest milk
into the shopping cart.

The body is a closed
circulatory system.

He knows exactly
what I need
when it is I have to go
straight ahead
go right
go left
go around my
self
and when it is I have to
close my eyes.

Go quickly past cleansers
citric acid, drain cleaners, chlorides, window cleaner, steel wool,
scouring pads
and gleaming, brand new, pink
wash cloths.

Old things have to be replaced, you know.

Have to get washed; but I mean there are limits.
For,
well, everything.

Remember:
Even linen gets dirty
worn out.

And yet I still see him.

See him rising from the freezers
where he has hidden
among the edamame beans,
vegetables and frozen raspberries
that destroy the liver with a speed
that is quicker than the cheap red wine on those shelves
an even cheaper alternative

See him
inside the frozen breast of duck
I suspect
has a direct connection
to my
heart.
Chakra.
Abra
cadabra

Open sesame.

Among the smoked salmon and trout
tuna fish, herring
and everything else
that once swam with me
he lies there and thinks
that I don't discover him.

But he doesn't even exist
in all that whiteness.

There is the scent of apples
where the two of us sleep.

Even now.

He hides behind
shelves of organic food
in front of pale mothers with strollers
and the faces
of frail men in checkered shirts
and glazed eyes.

Do they see anything
or is it just fun to doubt whether
there is anything of interest here?

I see Death buying groceries with me
at Fotex's supermarket
lethargic and lazy
irritating and pushy.

Could he, if nothing else,
help me pay for this stuff,
he could have helped me lug things home
up the steep flight of steps
where the old lady no longer
surfaces.

I mean, as I said before, everything's got to be replaced.

Maybe I should buy a shopping bag
with wheels
the very thing we love to hate.

I want it in patent leather.

So that I won't have to be reminded
of how much I truly hate buying groceries alone
how much I detest reveling in what a shame it is for me
to think just this sentence.


34 - 35

Jeg drømte
at jeg ejede et hus
på et højt grønt
bjerg.

Foran vinduerne
gardiner
af indisk bomuld.
Kniplinger og blonder
gav dem udseende som smukke
kvinder.
De flagrer i den varme brise.
Jeg hører tale og latter
fra køkkenet.

Huset er et lukket kloster
med hvid grund.
Gærde omkring.

Huset er hjemme.

Det grønne tag løfter sig mod himlen
røgen stiger op fra skorstenen.

Huset er sort.
Huset er småt.

Jeg sidder på gærdet.
Sidder mellem bær og buske.
Malingen skaller af i flager.

Jeg ser en hund,
der gnaver et ben.

Der er ingen kæde om dens hals.
Den kan gå, hvorhen den lyster.

Jeg kan gå derhen, hvor min fantasi vil.
Jeg kan gå derhen, hvor mine drømme vil.
Jeg kan gå derhen, hvor min krop vil.

Kroppen er et lukket kredsløb.


34-35

I dreamed
I owned a house
on a high, green
mountain.

In front of the windows,
curtains
of Indian cotton.
Bobbin lace
gave an impression
of beautiful women.
Fluttering now
in the warm breeze.
From the kitchen I hear
conversation and laughter.

The house is a closed monastery
on the white earth.
Fenced in.

The house is home.

The green roof lifts towards the heavens, the sky.
Smoke rises from the chimney.

The house is black.
The house is tiny.

I perch on the fence.
Sit among the berries and bushes.
The paint peels off in flakes.

I see a dog
gnawing a bone.

No chain hangs about its neck.
He can walk wherever his heart will take him.

I can go
wherever my fantasies wish

I can go
wherever my dreams wish

I can go
wherever my body wishes.

The body is a closed circulatory system.


35-37

Alle mennesker har drømme.
Men af og til forsvinder de
et sted mellem
fornuften og vanviddet
den hjemløse mand
råber højt om i kernen
af civilisationen.

Rammer stenansigterne
rammer midt i ingenting
på togstationen
tidligt om morgenen
i drivende dug.

Ud i
de sørgelige rester fra efterårsnatten
råber han.
Ud i efterårsnatten
der nu spirer
som en ny, ren dagligdag
med ubrugte muligheder
til at gøre drøm til
virkelighed
blandet med fyldte affaldsspande,
cykler, halstørklæder,
vanter og tætpakkede busser.

Trapperne er af beton.
Støvlerne af læder.

Kroppen er et lukket kredsløb.

Men det lækker mellem
bevidstheden, fornuften og
kødet.

Det løber ud mellem
tremmerne
i brystet,
i hvælvet
under kraniet
og kulden
kryber nu ind under jakken.

Hiver tankerne ud af sammenhæng
får mig til at løbe efter det meningsløse
samvær
med alt det
og
alle dem,
der kobler drømmen til virkeligheden,
så alt det, jeg drømte
om
kan blive
mit.


35-37

All human beings have dreams
but every now and then they disappear
some place between
good sense and madness -
the homeless man
cries out
in the heart of civilization

Strikes the stone faces
strikes them in the midst
of nothing at all
in a train station
of persistent mist
early one morning

Cries out
among the sad remains of an autumn night
sprouting now
like a new and pristine everyday life
of thwarted prospects
of turning dreams into something real
mixing with spilling garbage cans
bikes, scarves,
gloves and packed busses.

The steps are made of concrete.
The boots are made of leather.

The body is a closed circulatory system.

Yet it seeps into
consciousness, good sense and
the flesh.

It trickles past
the bars of my breast
into the vault
beneath my cranium
and the cold,
crawls in now
under my jacket.

Hurls my thoughts apart,
compels me to rush after some meaningless
form of human contact
with everything
and all those
who would bind their dreams to something real
so that everything I dream
can be mine.


48-49

Drømte, at vi var på vej
hen ad de smalle gader, de
endnu ikke har gjort bredere.

Du holdt mig i hånden.

Drømte, at jeg ikke følte det
som om himmel og jord stod i et,
og at der ikke var nogen grund til at frygte.

At der ikke var noget i dit smil
eller måde at tale på
som burde få mig til at
sy alle mine tremmer i det lukkede
kredsløb
sammen
endnu engang.

Drømte, at alt det
jeg havde i sinde at sige var unødvendigt.
Drømte, at alt det, jeg havde gjort
var unødvendigt at undskylde for
for det var aldrig sket.
Det eneste
der var tilbage
var din åbne favn.

Drømte, at jeg havde modet
til at forklare dig
at det, der kom tættest på dig,
ikke var halvdelen af det, jeg
vil have.


48-49

I dreamed we were walking
down narrow streets
they hadn't yet widened.

You were holding my hand.

I dreamed I didn't feel
heaven and earth were one
in the rising tempest,
and that there was really no reason to be afraid.

That there was nothing in your smile
or the way you spoke
that should make me
sew up, once again,
my protective bars
in the closed
circulatory system.

I dreamed that it was not really necessary
to say everthing
I had meant to say.
I dreamed that it was not really necessary
to apologize for everything I had done,
because it had never happened.
The only remaining
thing
was for you to really hold me.

I dreamed that I had the courage
to explain to you
that coming so very close to you
wasn't even half of what my wanting
could imagine.


50-51

Så nej.
Jeg går ikke
sagtmodigt
uhindret
yndigt
varsomt
famlende
eller uden
tvivl
eller
angst
ind i natten
du kalder den gode.

Jeg går med åbne arme.
Favner tilværelsen
og
alle dens skabninger.
Jeg går
med armene
rakt mod dig
fader.
Med brændende vilje
fortrøsningsfuldhed
vrede
længsel
med digte i ansigtet
og håbet
om
at lyset aldrig vil dø
i natten
vi kalder den gode.


50-51

So, no.
I do not go
gently
unencumbered
lovely
with caution
groping
or
with no misgivings
or
fears
into that night
you call good.

I go with arms spread wide
embracing existence
and all the things it has brought forth,
reaching out towards you,
my father,
with a burning will
full of consolation
angry
longing
with poems in my face
and the hope
that the light may never die
in the night
we call good.


62-65

Inde i skabet
med låsen
hænger den.

Med våde hænder
våde knæ
regnvådt hår
på alle fire
på hvide fliser
drejer jeg nøglen
tager den på.

Den er den seneste.
Eneste,
Der hænger tilbage.

Inde i den ser jeg mærket.
Næsten usynligt
nu.
Hvor mange grader
kan den tåle, jeg giver den?

Hvis jeg vasker den
forsvinder alle fodsporene
den har gået med mig?
Forsvinder billederne
den så sammen med mig
mellem menneskeansigter
hvide betonhusvægge
hvor eftermiddagsskygger hastede forbi?
Tømmes lommerne for mønter
tyggegummipakker, penne
cykellygter, papirstykker
telefonnumre der blev svaret med et
jeg ved ikke?

Vil alle de gentagne oplevelser fra
de dødtrætte dagligdage
blive skyllet af den
så den igen skinner sort
og blank
som en ny dag
som en ren side
på det hvide bord
fuld af ubrugte muligheder fra top til bund
som barnet
der blev vasket i drømmen?

Vil den være i stand til at holde kulden
fra livet
ismorgener på overfyldte togstationer?
Vil den være i stand til at tø og varme
kulden som pibler ud
mellem rækværket
af ribben?
Fra andebrystkulden?

Sesam, sesam.

Vil den være i stand til at holde tågetalen
en armslængde fra bevidstheden?

Vil lynlåsen være stærk nok
så den formår
at holde sammen på det lukkede kredsløb
som affald der fik eget liv igen
rev sig løs fra affaldsspanden
og nu driver og færdes i alle retninger
med vinden fra havet
som får alt at ruste?

Hvis jeg vasker den
bliver alt så nyt
som den første dag
som i morgensol
om sommeren
når daggryet lagde tæppe på fliserne
og vi barfodede mærkede livet
vokse med bark og uskrevne navne
op gennem fodsålerne?

Kroppen
igen
klædt på.


62-65

It hangs
in the closet
with the lock.

My wet hands
wet knee
hair full of the rain
on all fours
on the white tiles.
I turn the key,
put it on.

It is the last one.
The only one
still hanging there.

Within it, I can see
the label.
It is now
nearly invisible.
How many degrees
should I set it for,
how many degrees
can it take?

If I wash it,
will all the footprints
it has walked with me
disappear?
Will the pictures
it has seen with me
also vanish among
the human faces
and white concrete walls
where afternoon shadows hasten past?
Will it empty the coins from my pockets,
the packs of chewing gum, pens,
bike lights, bits of paper,
and telephone numbers that were answered with an
I don't know?

Will all the recurring experiences of
my worn out, everyday life
be washed off of it
so that it will shine once more
black and gleaming
as a new day
as a clean page
on a white table
full of possibilities
I never made use of,
from top to bottom,
like the child
I was bathing in my dream?

Will it be able to keep the cold
away from life
in the icy mornings in train stations
teeming with people?

Will it be able to melt and to warm
the cold that trickles through
the guard-rails
of my ribs?
From the cold breast of duck?

Sesame, Sesame.

Will it be able to speak nonsense
an arm's length from wakefulness?

Will the zipper be strong enough
so that it is able
to hold things together in the closed
circulatory system
in the same way garbage might take on a life
of its own, tearing itself away from the trash cans
whose contents now flow in all directions
while the wind from the sea
makes everything rust?

If I wash it
will everything be as new
as the first day
like being in the sun on a
summer morning
when the dawn lays a blanket over the tiles
so that, barefooted, we can feel life
growing with the bark and unwritten names
up through the soles of our feet?

The body
once more
is dressed.


65-66

Kroppen
den lukkede
klædt i hud, hår, øjne, mund
med evnen til at se
tale og bevæge sig
i den gamle, sorte frakke
løbe ind i åbne favne.

Ned ad trapperne
gik ind gennem vidt åbne døre
famlede mod
de gardinløse vinduer
der står på klem.
Sprængte grænsen mellem
logikken og
religionen
uden at vide
hvad der var i vente.

Regnskabet over årene
der gik
er en frygtelig opgave
at blive sat til at
løse
når spaden står rusten
i jorden.

Fødderne låst.

Når
Efterårsvinden kræver
at bladene på træet
falder til jorden.

Rådner i sød duft.

Hjemmet er et kloster.
Hjemmet findes ikke længere.


65-66

The human body
the closed one,
dressed in skin, hair, eyes, a mouth
able to see
speak and move
in an old, black overcoat,
able to run into open embraces.

Down the stairs
I walked in through doors gaping wide,
groping towards
windows without curtains
cracked.
Broke the limits between
logic
and religion
without knowing
what I could expect.

Keeping accounts of the years
that had passed
is a terrible task
to be given
when the spade rusts
in the earth.

My feet firmly bound.

When
the autumn wind demands
that the leaves on the tree
fall to the earth,
that they rot in the sweet smell.

My home is a monastery.
My home no longer exists.


79-81

Du kalder mig
livstyv.

Jeg føler mig mere
som en grøn glasflaske
fyldt med marmorkugler.

De er kolde. Runde. Bløde.
Hvis jeg holder længe nok omkring dem
bliver de varme.

Når jeg lægger dem på bordet
ruller de
mod kanten
af det runde bord.

Jeg husker.

Formår at standse faldet
med den hvide finger der har lært
hvad den også kan bruges til.
Flytter mig på stolen
tæller kuglerne på bordet.

De seneste dage har været fyldt
med
krav.

Af vedholdende, klirrende perler
på snore, i flasker
på bordet
og i det lukkede
kredsløb.

Alle de år, der er gået.
Alle de ord, der er sagt.
Regnskabet er ved at
være færdigt.

Kræver mig. Vedholdende.
Lukket.

Jeg har en kugle i hjerte
chakraet.
I andebrystkulden
sidder den
fast.

Ønskerne om at eje alt.
Aldrig at lade noget gå
efterlader mig endnu engang alene
mens jeg fylder marmorkugler
i grønne
glas
flasker.
Sætter proppen i
inden de lægger skovene øde.


79-81

You call me
a robber of life.

I feel more
like a green bottle
filled with marbles.

The marbles are cold. Round. Soft.
If I I hold them long enough
they grow warm.

When I put them on the table
they roll towards
the round edge.

I remember.

With a white finger that has learned
that it can be used for something else,
I manage to prevent them from falling.
I stir in my chair,
count the marbles on the table.
The past few days have been filled
with demands.

Of a constant rattling
beads on strings in bottles
on the table
and within the closed
circulatory
system.

All the years, that have passed.
All the words that have been said-
The accounts are nearly
drawn up.

Need me. Persistently.
Closed.

I have a pellet in my heart
chakra.
It is stuck in the chill of
the duck's breast.

My wish to possess everything.
To never allow something to escape
leaves me once more alone
while I fill the green bottle
with
marbles.
I put the cork back
before they destroy the forests.


81-85

I det stærke, afslørende dagslys
under efterårssolen
og suset fra kragevinger
hvide gardiner
og faldende blade
der lander lydløst på den fugtige
gule jord
løber jeg ned ad trapperne.
Ind i dig.

Der
på det sidste trappetrin,
forsvinder fortiden.
Den sidste barndomsuskyld
skyller
ned i afløbet i grøften.

Stoltheden, troen og æren
er nu blot ord,
saltet fra havet har visket af
barken.

Alt er klart.

Den hvide hud er spændt ud på kroge
biologen kan skære i
lede i og undersøge
med voksne, kyndige fingre
der opruller den sammenviklede pigtråd
spiller ukendte sange på strengene
han mener kan se
har en direkte forbindelse
med den hvide hvælving under kraniet
hvor han mener han kan høre
ekkoet
fra svage stemmer
der siger: Vågn op!

Det lukkede kredsløb åbner sig.

Indholdet ligger
Slagtet, åbent
på stålbordet
foran skalpellen.

Lægger alle ledningerne,
farverne, strukturerne, hemmelighederne
vidt åbne.

Halsen er skåret over
ordene drukner i blodblærer.
Alle skuffer er åbne
lyset vælter uhindret ind gennem
de store vinduer.

Fanger det skarpe blad.

Gardinerne flagrer i vinden.
En del af mig sidder på gærdet
og griner.

Jeg ser hvide
toppe på bølgerne
slå hårdt og vedholdende
mod bådende.

Gusen fra havet rammer
mågerne på elmasterne
kragen i reden
den flyvende ravn.
Rammer kvinden på altanen
jeg intet har at fortælle.

Jeg er blot en iagtager.

Når han
rammer
kirtlen i mit hjerte
chakra.

Alting stikker.

Når han målrettet
lægger snittet
spiler kroppen sig ud
som en blank, hvid presenning
ud over
vores fælles hjemsted.

Gemmer det, så hemmelighederne
og kravene efter din krop,
din væren og din duft af varme
blade på kold jord
til alle tider forbliver
hvor de kom fra.

Fordi.
Det lukkede kredsløb er dit.
Dit med alle sine forbud
skammen
som ikke kom af handlingerne
men af følelserne
bagefter.

Dit.
Lige meget om brisen kommer fra havet.
hvilken vej vindretningen drejer
hvilken dag de siger det er
hvilket år de siger det er
hvilken årstid de siger, det er
om hundene gør på gårdspladsen
om du husker eller ej
om kattene murrer i køkkenet
om dagligdagen drejer med svimlende fart
om brændstoffet er ved at slippe op
om månen skinner ind på sengen
om døden lader perlerne klirre,
eller om kirkeklokkerne savner
om bønnerne fra natten
bliver hørt eller ej
om glasset ramte stenen eller græsset
om ansigtet rammer fliserne
om hænderne knuser mit ansigt som is
eller om de uden at tvivle, uden at tøve
skærer dybe furer ind
i rødt kød
med et snorlige, fuldkomment snit
der ikke ryster usikkert og famlende som os
da vi pludslig ikke forstod lovene længere.
Om de
rører huden som sæben
fletter sig sammen som røgen
fra skorstenene
på det sorte hvælv.
Om de tager min hånd.
Om de kæler for mit skind.

Dit, for du er inde i mig.
Salt, rå
væske
jeg aldrig har villet være
foruden

i den grønne kugle
bag tremmeværket.

Ind i
det lukkede
kredsløb.


81-85

In the intensity of daylight
that lays all things bare
in the autumn sun
and the wind-held sounds of crow wings,
the white curtains
and falling leaves
landing silently on the moist,
yellow earth,
I run down the stairs
into
you.

There,
on the last step,
the past disappears.
The final vestige of a child's
innocence
washes down
the drain
in the ditch.

Pride, faith, and honor
are only words now.
The salt from the sea has
erased the bark.

Everything is ready.
The white skin is stretched between pegs:
The biologist can cut into it,
poke around and investigate
with the knowing fingers of adults,
rolling up the tangled barbed wire,
playing unknown songs on the strings
he imagines are able to see,
have a direct connection
to the white vault beneath the cranium
where he thinks he can hear
the echo
of faint voices
saying: wake up!

The closed circulatory system opens up.

Its contents lie there
slaughtered, revealed
on the steel table
before the scalpel.

All the wires, colors, structures,
secrets, lie there
clearly revealed.

The throat is cut straight across,
words drown in the bubbling blood.
Every drawer is open.
The light pours in, unimpeded,
through the big windows,

takes hold of the sharp blade.

The curtains fluff in the wind.
A part of me sits on the wire fence,
laughing.

I see whitecaps
on the waves
striking the boats roundly, persistently.
The spray of the sea strikes
the gulls on the pylons,
the crow in its nest,
the raven in its flight.
It strikes the woman on the balcony
I have nothing to say to.

I am only an observer.

When he
strikes
the gland in my heart
chakra.

Everything stings.

When he makes
the resolute incision,
the body distends
like a shiny white tarpaulin
over the place we come from.

Concealing it, so the secrets
and demands for your body -
your very being and your smell of warm
leaves on the cold earth- will always
remain, for all time,
in the place of their origin.

Because.
The closed circulatory system is yours.
Yours, with all its prohibitions
shame
that doesn't come from what you have done
but the feelings you get
after you have done something.

Yours. It doesn't matter whether the breeze comes from the sea
which way the direction of the wind may turn
which day we say it is
which year we say it is
which season we say, it is
whether dogs bark in the courtyards
whether you remember or you don't
whether the cats are grumbling in the kitchen
whether everyday life spins with dizzying speed
whether the fuel is nearly spent
whether the moon shines in upon the bed
whether death makes the beads rattle
or whether the church bells are missing
or prayers in a night
are heard or not heard
whether the glass struck the stone or the grass
whether your face hit the tiles
whether your hands crushed my face like ice
or whether they, beyond a doubt, without hesitation,
cut deep ruts in
the red flesh
with the unswerving incision
that doesn't waver with uncertainty
as we do
that time we suddenly were unable to understand the laws.
Whether they
touch the skin like soap
twining itself like smoke
from the chimneys
on a black vault.

Whether they take my hand.
Whether they stroke my skin.

Yours, for you are inside me.
Salt, raw
liquid
I never wanted
to do without

in the green pellet
behind the bars

Within
the closed
circulatory
system.


85-87

Min verden er uden altaner.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden træer
med snit i barken.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden kragereden.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden aviser på gulvet.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden ildelugtende biler.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden hundegøen,
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden citronmåner.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden lugten af olie.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden krabber.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden skænderier over middagen.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden timelange telefonsamtaler.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden koncertbilletter.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden indkøbsture i centret.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden malemukker.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden løbeture.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden afhentning i lufthavnen.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden besøg hos venner.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden indkøb.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden sejlture.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden min bedste ven.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden kanelsnegle.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden ”dig og mig”.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden badekar.
Babyleave.
Min verden er uden båndoptager.
Babyleave.

Min verden er uden vores fælles
minder.

Babyleave.


85-87

My world is without balconies.
Babyleave.
My world is without trees
with incisions in the bark.
Babyleave.
My world is without a crow's nest.
Babyleave.
My world is without newspapers on the floor.
Babyleave.
My world is without foul smelling cars.
Babyleave.
My world is without the barking of dogs.
Babyleave.
My world is without lemon moons.
Babyleave.
My world is without the smell of oil.
Babyleave.
My world is without crabs.
Babyleave.
My world is without quarrels during meals.
Babyleave.
My world is without hour-long telephone conversations.
Babyleave.
My world is without tickets to concerts
Babyleave.
My world is without trips to the mall
Babyleave.
My world is without fulmars.
Babyleave.
My world is without going for runs.
Babyleave.
My world is without airport pickups.
Babyleave.
My world is without visiting friends.
Babyleave.
My world is without buying groceries.
Babyleave.
My world is without boat trips.
Babyleave.
My world is without my best friend.
Babyleave.
My world is without cinnamon buns.
Babyleave.
My world is without ”you and me”.
Babyleave.
My world is without a bathtub.
Babyleave.
My world is without tape recorders.
Babyleave.

My world is without the memories
we have in common.

Babyleave.



Poems copyright © Sissal Kampmann, translations copyright © Gordon Walmsley.