Excerpt

Poems by Kamil Peteraj

HISTORY OF A STONE

endlessly the stone waited

for its chance and then

a boy comes along

bends down to it

and throws it a little bit further on

 

 

STORK

some blue envelope

a cellophane packet

or at least a walnut

must hang from the long stork legs of poetry

which flies each Autumn through the windows

and leaves in our eyes

the blaze of eternal tracks

 

the whole of Spring it tugged warmth from our sleeves

it changed the points of branches

and thrust its blooming little inter-city

along happy tireless routes

and today wise and ripe

writes her last bird lines

yet doesn’t leave pondering

if  we are properly trimmed by her breezes

if we took something from her natural flowers

if we are poorer by at least a penny

and haven’t up for an apple

close the windows friends come out

the stork of poetry is in the loft and perhaps

has brought something for us

 

 

POSTE RESTANTE

oh dead ones don’t get up

it’s unnecessary

with my finger (to fill in time) I only write

a greeting

poste restante

(to someone) in heaven

 

to someone who isn’t there perhaps

 

oh dead ones

withstand for a while

this crazy wind

let it not blow me away

 

and you wind

listen please

to my commands

 

for I’m not waiting for any miracle

(so the answer)

is only for ordinary

summery

light blue images

 

 

TOMORROW CAN BE TOO LATE

I’m shouting

and I’ll wake up my neighbours

and tell them

shout as well

and wake up your neighbours

and tell those neighbours

to shout, too

and wake their neighbours

because tomorrow can be too late

 

 

MAN AND HEN

a man feeds his pigeons

and doesn’t even know

that growing

on his head is a sunflower

 

two gold bugs sit there

and play

tit for tat

 

oh it’s a feeling

to go with an invisible sunflower

on one’s head

where someone tickles

someone with their little legs

 

when he gets home

an impatient hen awaits

which flies into his hair

and pecks out everything beautiful

that was growing there

 

FROM BEYOND THE DUSK

how badly do I understand a song

which comes from beyond the dusk

it makes move my lips

and touch words with my tongue

how much whispering is within it

how many distant voices!

they call me

and assure: you are ours

how badly do I understand a song

which appears from a flower’s cup

it opens wholly

and sounds into a circle

as if it connects me

with all time that was and will be

and leads my steps silently

in a preordained direction

                                                                              Translated by Viera and James Sutherland-Smith

 

 

 

TRAINING DURCH FRAGEN

Was hat den Stein in die Höhen

Geschleudert,

daß er auf die Knie fiel

und um Gnade bat

mit leeren Händen

bei den unschuldigen blinden Engeln,

die aus seinem Fleisch und Gebein sind?

 

Im tiefen Verlis

schlug die aufgescheuchte Taube

mit den Flügeln,

 

die Messer des Lichtes gleiten lautlos

an den Kehlen der Säulen hinunter,

wo ist hier Gott?

 

Flüstern: Widerhall

und Blumen –

leise Schritte derer, die kommen

und gehen.

Geblendet trittst du hinaus

 

 

BOSCH

Wieviel Licht

haben die Kerzen geboren

bis er vollendete

das unversenkbare Narrenschiff

 

was alles hat er verloren

bis er den Garten Eden

fand

 

geschaut hat er alle letzten Tage

aber nur einen hat er gemalt –

den erstletzten.

 

 

WINTERBILD

Wachse der Baum eine Zeit

mit dem Kopf nach unten

 

so wie er ist alt,

knorrig, ungestalt

der Baum ist wie ein Kreis

der sich ändert aus sich selbst

es herrscht eine gewaltige Ruhe

wie nach der Schöpfung

wenn in der Erde aufscheinen seine Äpfel

und oben im Wurzelgeflecht

ein Rabe sitzt –

sein Tod

 

und ihn schlafend führt

am Ärmel durch den Winter

 

                                                                Übersetzt von Waltraud Jähnichen