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"One Thousand Steps" by Carolyn Coalson,
water colour on paper 2010
Memory of Holland
by
Hendrik Marsman
| Thinking
about Holland, |
Denkend
aan Holland |
| I
see wide-flowing rivers |
zie
ik breede rivieren |
| slowly
traversing |
traag
door oneindig |
| infinite
plains, |
laagland
gaan, |
| inconceivably |
rijen
ondenkbaar |
| rarefied
poplars |
ijle
populieren |
| like
lofty plumes |
als
hooge pluimen |
| on
the skyline in lanes; |
aan
den einder staan; |
| and
submerged in the vastness |
en
in de geweldige |
| of
unbounded spaces, |
ruimte
verzonken |
| the
farm houses |
de
boerderijen |
| strewn
over the land, |
verspreid
door het land, |
| tree
clumps, villages, |
boomgroepen,
dorpen, |
| truncated
towers, |
geknotte
torens, |
| churches
and elm trees |
kerken
en olmen |
| all
wondrously planned |
in
een grootsch verband. |
| the
sky hangs low |
de
lucht hangt er laag |
| and
slowly the sun by |
en
de zon wordt er langzaam |
| mists
of all colours |
in
grijze veelkleurige |
| is
stifled and greyed |
dampen
gesmoord, |
| and
in all the regions |
en
in alle gewesten |
| the
voice of the water |
wordt
de stem van het water |
| with
its endless disasters |
met
zijn eeuwige rampen |
| is
feared and obeyed. |
gevreesd
en gehoord. |
|
|
| Hendrik
Marsman, 1936 |
Translation:
Paul Vincent, 2006 |
| Copyright:
Uitgeverij Querido |
Copyright:
Paul Vincent |
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For more info about the translation
click here
* Hendrik Marsman* (1899-1940), Dutch poet and writer. Marsman studied law and practiced in Utrecht, but after 1933 he
travelled in Europe and devoted himself to literature. Under the
influence of the German Expressionists, Marsman made his literary
debut about 1920. As editor of the periodical De Vrije bladen
(“The Free Press”), he became in 1925 the foremost critic of the
younger generation.
During World War II he was drowned while escaping
(the occupied Netherlands) to Great Britain, when the ship he was on was torpedoed by a German submarine.
His poetry is vitalistic and expressionistic,
and (fear of) death, as a metaphor for defeat in life, is a recurring theme. In 2000 his poem "Herinnering aan
Holland", (see above) was chosen as the Poem of the Century by
the Dutch people.
Source: Wikipedia & Encyclopaedia
Britannica
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