Sunday, May 2, 2021

Hugh Thomas : seven poems

 

 

 

Not tucked in a letter

Not tucked in a letter,
not in a motorcar,
not as a housefly,

not on the internet,
nor in Elijah's fiery chariot—

you won't make it further
than the banana palm at your own front gate.

 

 

Less Lu Chi
 

Less Lu Chi in your poems, please.
I'll give you a hand when it stops raining.
Many times before,

no one has painted this exact ache.

 

 

Barn door
 

The best hugs
were the wind's.
No they weren't.

Someone has stolen the wind,
and what will he get for it?

 

 

Today I saw
 

Today I saw
two moons,
one new,

and one old.
I believe in the new moon,

but it's a gamble.

 

 

Holy truth
 

It's the holy truth,
my habit on Thursdays.
To lie in bed is heaven.

See, I got a dog on the phone,
like birds cry real tears,

and you believe whatever comes along.


 

Spare the wind
 

Spare the wind
after a tussle.
It's made of nothing

and it comes up
with the best swears.

 

 

Eight o'clock
 

Eight o'clock,
Einstein,
and you called at eleven.

I'm staying til
I can eat rocks,

then I'm coming over.

 

 

Note on the poems
 

These poems are mistranslations of poems by Olav H. Hauge, one of the foremost Norwegian poets of the twentieth century. They include elements of conventional translation, but also deliberate mistakes, as well as words suggested by interpreting the sound of the Norwegian words as if they were English (or, in some cases, French). 

Olav Hauge translated into Norwegian from English, French, and German. He also appreciated Chinese and Japanese poety, as witness references in the poems translated here to Lu Chi and Basho (Not tucked in a letter).

The reader interested in discovering more about the poetry of Hauge could consult two collections of translations into English, Selected Poems, translated by Robin Fulton, and The dream we carry, translated by Robert Bly and Robert Hedin. Most of the poems I worked from can be found in these collections.

 

 

 

Hugh Thomas is a poet and translator living in Montréal, where he teaches mathematics at UQAM. His first solo book of poetry, Maze, was published by Invisible Publishing in spring 2019. Other translations from this project appeared in the online journal long con in fall 2020.

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