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Uljana Wolf(with translations by Susan Bernofsky)
Two Poems from DICHTionary (A German-English dictionary of false friends, true cognates and other cousins) |
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F fall / falls / fast / fell / flog
to flog a dead horse: vergeblicher sport. wir wollens lieber wieder fliegen sehn, ohne striemen stehn im stall, im herbst, in jedem fall before it fell: well & lebendig. und falls wendig, fast as water: schillerndes fell, wir striegelten faster, dass keiner einen riegel schöbe vor den quell, eine regel, oder riemen, oder was sich sonst hier schindend pflog.
to flog a dead horse: what foolish sport. we’d rather see it fly again, see it stand unwhipped within its stall, or failing that, before it falls: well & alive. and if it’s lithe, let it be quick as water, a shimmering coat, we curried it cunningly, that no door be barred before the font, no rule or strap to halt us in our labors till we make the hoofbeats scan.
a vase is a vase is a vase und das gilt, scheints, für jedes wort das tiefer ist als breit. bereit? ornament is not a vase although it comes with one. word is some people come in what they think must be a vase, for they deflower it. what a lack of depth, and wit. ornament, ornament, i’m tired of your bored lament. you need a lover who would write a vase a letter: dear vessel, you’re not a word.
a vase is a vase is a vase and it’s the same for any word that’s deeper than wide. shall we look inside? ornament is not a vase although it comes with one. word is some people come in what they think must be a vase, for they deflower it. what a lack of depth, and wit. ornament, ornament, i’m tired of your bored lament. you need a lover who would write a vase a letter: dear vessel, you’re not a word.
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