Gedicht
Dat iemand nog een keer me zou bestrelen
en zeggen: bermbroei, land van maas en waal,
bloeiende betuwe. Verloren weelde
die poëzie van land en lijf en taal.
Such a beautiful, haunting poem. It is impossible to translate – I can find no way of creating any patterns of sound or sense that match or do justice to the feeling of loss, or to keep the same incantation of images. So what can be done in English? The word broei suggests ferment, smouldering, self-combustion and weelde opulence, abundance, plenty. The area of the Maas (Meuse) and Waal rivers lies in the south of the Netherlands. The Betuwe is an area originally made up of large fertile islands in the river delta of the Rhine and Maas – it is also known as ‘the fruit garden of the Netherlands’. The language of the poem is also like a fruit garden in rich soil.
Here is the fourth attempt to translate (thanks to new input from a Dutch-language poet)
Poem
That someone one more time should now caress me
say: steamy verges, land of Maas and Waal,
blossoming Betuwe. A lost abundance
that poetry of language, body and land.
No comments:
Post a Comment