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.
