19.06 2024

a man stops on his bike
and stares intensely at some windows
two storeys up
on the other side of the street
for a long time

and I make up
my own story about
what’s going on:

perhaps he once knew
a woman who lived there
one he lost contact to
one who was struck
by mental illness
or simply evaporated
as people do
these days

and I wrote this poem
about it

not including the green grocer
carrying cucumbers
and iceberg salad

as people do

these days

.

en mand stopper på sin cykel
og stirrer intenst på nogle vinduer
på anden sal
på den anden side af gaden
i lang tid

og jeg laver
min egen historie
om det:

måske kendte han engang
en kvinde der boede der
én han mistede kontakten til
én som blev ramt
af psykisk sygdom
eller blot fordampede
som folk gør
for tiden

og jeg skrev dette digt
om det

uden at nævne grønthandleren
der bar på agurker
og iceberg salat

som folk gør

for tiden

poems

As a continuation of exploring counter-point/juxtapostion in poetry to create a kind of dialogue in the reader’s mind, these are experiments to find out whether a title – or what presents itself as a title typographically – could function as a first line in a poem. Normally we read the title as a more or less comprehensive catch-phrase of what the text below it will reveal, but in this case the following phrase/poem will be in juxtaposition to what the title proposes. The basic presumption is that “the space” between the two parts creates a room for the reader to enter. I hope it works.

…*…

THE LONGEST DAY EVER RECORDED
when you turn your head the pain subsides

.

DEN LÆNGSTE DAG DER NOGENSINDE ER MÅLT

når du drejer hovedet aftager smerten

:

THE DENTIST ISN’T IN TODAY

I’ve only seen the Eiffel Tower

.

TANDLÆGEN ER HER IKKE I DAG

jeg har kun set Eiffeltårnet

:

FRIDAY

have you noticed the nails are bleeding?

.

FREDAG

har Du lagt mærke til at sømmene bløder?

:

YOU LOOK AT THE COBWEB IN THE CEILING AND SIGH

it’s no use
the pizza
sleeps

DU SER PÅ SPINDELVÆVET I LOFTET OG SUKKER

det nytter ikke noget
pizzaen
sover

:

ELEGY

she always tries to smile backwards

.

ELEGI

hun prøver altid at smile baglæns

:

NOT YOU, YOU CAN’T SHUT UP

every drop
’s full
of rain

.

IKKE DIG, DU KAN IKKE HOLDE KÆFT

enhver dråbe
r fuld
af regn

monostich

like my father and mother I have the sky above me

som min far og mor har jeg himlen over mig

.

today the rain doesn’t care if you’re a hipster or a beggar

i dag er regnen ligeglad med om du er hipster eller tigger

.

arrogantly I think the cornflower in me is my own doing

arrogant tænker jeg at kornblomsten i mig er én jeg har groet selv

.

stay out long enough and the wind will take your place

vær ude længe nok og vinden vil tage din plads

.

I didn’t stop the sunlight from crawling across the table

jeg forhindrede ikke sollyset i at kravle over bordet

.

sometimes an apple sleeps

nogle gange sover et æble

.

do they talk when they cannot paint?

snakker de når de ikke kan male?

.

someone’s tearing up the street

en eller anden river gaden op

.

looks like he’s proud of his jackhammer

ser ud til at han er stolt af sit trykluftbor

.

four lighters on the table and spring has begun

fire lightere på bordet og foråret er begyndt

.

time doesn’t stop when you change the date

tiden står ikke stille når du retter på datoen