De Wereld - The World (translated from Simon Vinkenoog's original)

Onset to a translation of a poem by one of Holland's finest poets. In fact, he's the poet of the nation! Born in 1928, he still writes his own erudite blog entries an a nearly daily basis. His extraordinary view of the world has opened my mind.

 

Suite pathetique

Continuous pathos

 

Niets te eten, niets te duchten,

Nothing to eat, nothing to fear

 

Niemand luistert naar ons zuchten

Nobody listening to our sighing

 

Niemand weet wat lijden is

Nobody knows what suffering means

 

Leve de hel en de verdoemenis

Long live hell and damnation

 

De rijken rijker en de armen armer

The rich become richer and the poor poorer

 

De koude kouder en de hitte warmer

The cold colder and the heath even warmer

 

Alle tegenstellingen groot

All contrasts big

 

En aller verdraag wordt steeds groot

And what anybody can bear even bigger

 

Niemand die de ander ziet,

Nobody sees the other,

 

het licht in de ogen schijnt niet

The light in the eyes doesn’t shine

 

De waarheid is een droef verhaal

The truth is a sad story

-

Op klein en op grote schaal

On every level big or small

 

Wie weet hoever de pijn kan gaan

Who know how much pain one can bear

 

Waar komt toch al het al het onrecht vandaan

Where does the injustice come from

 

Vragen, bidden, smeken, vragen,

Asking, praying, begging, asking

 

Niemand kan andermans lichten lagen

Noboby can lower another man’s lights

De hele wereld staat in brand

The whole world is on fire

 

In dode vechten is het licht beland

Light is to be found in dead fights

 

De zwarte gaten in het geheugen worden

The black wholes in the memory become ...

 

(or will be continued)

 

 

 

www.youtube.com/watch (the original poem) (c) Simon Vinkenoog

www.youtube.com/watch (me, reciting the English Translation)

 

(c) Simon Vinkenoog - www.vinkenoog.nl (bilingual site: both Dutch and English blogentries)

Author's Note

I discovered this poem on a YouTube video and my translation is phonetical. Now and again, I might have missed some words or even misinterpreted them ... The original writer has been notified of this translation before I added it here.

Reviews

[Adam Chambers]

"The Truth is a sad story"
and
"The whole world is on fire"
and
"long live hell and damnation"

I love it!!!!!! Incredible poem. I can really relate to your poems. We seem to think a little bit alike... This is a really beautiful poem, sad, sober but with a very strong attitude of determination to it. Extremely moving. Makes me wish I could read the native language-- Is it Dutch, German?