Keld Vorup Sørensen. 'Tonefald'

The below translation is from a debut collection of poetry by the Danish writer Keld Vorup Sørensen. The collection, Glemslens Territorier, appeared in 2020, published by mellemgaard.

CADENCES

Sorrow-logged klezmer landscape

in water up to its knees

under a sky

quite drained of larks

The spruce tree soars up

shakes off its clarinet notes

and shares them generously

with the wind

Patina-green heath

gasping for breath

like an accordion

with leaky bellows

Fiery gipsy fiddle

balances on the fringe of

the final Flood

A lone flute

soundlessly

forebodes

the finale