The apartment
The apartment smells of soap shavings
a new life
the withered tomato plant stands on the windowsill
a black little tree
with two red fruit
Tityrus unwraps the jars
and sets them on the table
another gift for the Doctor
she hasn’t asked for
Titryus feels ashamed
she’s sleeping in the other room
he’s sitting quietly on the sofa
Lejligheden
Lejligheden dufter af sæbespåner
et nyt liv
den visne tomatplante står i vindueskarmen
et sort lille træ
med to røde frugter
Tityrus pakker krukkerne ud
og stiller dem på bordet
endnu en gave til Lægen
hun ikke har bedt om
Tityrus skammer sig
hun ligger og sover i det andet rum
han sidder helt stille i stuen
at de havde øjenkontakt
men så fløj den
The garbage bag
The garbage bag lies on the floor
a pale film around colourful cartons
the gut of the apartment
it digests what they cannot
She left it for him this morning
when she went to work
there it is
waiting
as is the shepherd
under the covers
Beside the white shoes
some brown fluid runs out
The dirty dishes stand in the light from the yard
that hangs in the kitchen
that hangs in the bedroom
Tityrus saw a magpie on the ledge
when he finally got up
he would say
they made eye contact
but it flew off
Affaldsposen
Affaldsposen ligger på gulvet
den er en bleg hinde om de farverige kartoner
den er lejlighedens tarme
den fordøjer det de ikke kan
Hun efterlod den til ham om morgenen
da hun tog på arbejde
der ligger den
og venter
ligesom hyrden
under dynen
Ved siden af de hvide sko
løber en brun væske ud
Opvasken står i gårdlyset
der hænger i køkkenet
der hænger i soveværelset
Tityrus så en skade på reposen
da han endelig vågnede
han ville sige
at de havde øjenkontakt
men så fløj den
Housewife Pastoral
Tityrus washes up
out in the hallway hangs an oval mirror
the mirror shows Tityrus who washes up
his body bare to the waist
the grey and white stripes of his swimming trunks
in the violet light from the courtyard
A sickness in Tityrus
makes him quiet and distant
smiling and unapproachable
like the orchids
in the windows
he sits on the stool
hot and tired
Husmoderpastorale
Tityrus vasker op
ude på gangen hænger et rundt spejl
spejlet viser Tityrus der vasker op
den nøgne overkrop
og badebuksernes grå og hvide striber
i et violet lys fra gården
En sygdom i Tityrus
gør ham stille og fjern
utilnærmelig og smilende
som orkidéerne
i vinduet
han sidder på stolen
varm og træt
_________________
Duncan Wiese (b. 1991) is a Danish poet and a graduate of the Danish Academy of Creative Writing, where he now teaches. His debut Tityrus was shortlisted for the prestigious Bodil and Jørgen Munch-Christensen Prize and the Bogforum Prize for New Writing. He lives in Skovlunde.
Sam Riviere is the author of three poetry books: 81 Austerities, Kim Kardashian's Marriage, and After Fame, and most recently a novel, Dead Souls (2021).
Man Minden Ribeiro is a literary translator and academic philosopher. His recent publications include Pelle Hvenegaard’s Dear Zoe Ukhona and Finn Juhl: Life, Work, World by Christian Bundegaard. He lives in Copenhagen.