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3 poems by Duncan Wiese translated by Sam Riviere and Max Minden Ribeiro


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.

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