Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Jean-Michel Espitallier

HERE AND THERE

1. The world is all that is there.
2. The totality of the world is the totality of theres of the world minus one there that is here.
3. Here is the sum of all the theres minus all the theres minus one.
4. Seen from there, there will always be one there missing from the totality of theres of the world, and that missing there is here. So that one cannot conceive a universe comprised of there only. However, all that is not here does not exist.
5. From which it follows that all the theres which are at the same time not here do not exist here.
6. And thus the world does not exist. Save here.
7. ‘Look over there and see if I am there’ is an order difficult to follow.
8. All that is there never comes here, save if one should go there to look for it and remain there.
9. The value of here varies according to here. ‘Doctor, I have a pain here’ does not designate the same here as ‘here in Europe’, ‘here in Europe’ includes ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ if the pain and the doctor are both ‘here in Europe.’ It follows that ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ does not designate the same here as ‘here in Europe’ even if ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ should happen to be ‘here in Europe.’ There exists therefore a relation of inclusion between many heres, since here is always included in a here larger than it.
10. From which it will be deduced that each here consists of an infinity of heres all nested in each other like matryoshka dolls, even in Europe.
11. This relation is not reciprocal (‘here in Europe’ includes ‘I have a pain here,’ but ‘I have a pain here’ does not include ‘here in Europe’).
12. If he who has ‘a pain here’ telephones from China for a doctor who is ‘in Europe,’ here the relation between the two is a relation known as space-shifted telediagnostical, since ‘I have a pain here’ is included in ‘here in China’ and the doctor who happens to be ‘here in Europe’ must diagnose the ‘pain here’ that is not ‘here in Europe.’
13. Two heres = 1 there who is not here + 1 here who is not there (except there).
14. If for here there = there, for there here = there; but for there, there does not necessarily equal here.
15. The thousands of theres which are there for other people over there do not exist for these other people over there who do not exist for here.
16. The totality of other people over there corresponds to the totality of the potentials of here.
17. One there never equals another, even if for here two distinct theres are indistinctly there.
18. Each there is the there of all the other theres at once.
19. The frontier between here and there is not very neat.
20. The statement ‘I am there’ is a logical impossibility, similar for example to the statements ‘He is on his period. That noise feels funny. The first time I went to New York it was in California. We have three only sons. I weigh 1.81 metres. I count them on the fingers of my hip. My mother is still a virgin. Open 24 hours until 10.30. I assassinated my sister’s only brother. 97% of the persons interrogated were alive. New timetables for the third half of the year. The Andrews twins are ten months older than each other. I have given the go-ahead for the big swim across America. He won the Tour de France of the Bouches-du-Rhône. The Austrian navy, it claims that you are shit. In Rotterdam, only the Dutch poets are not international.’
21. Just one here for two there is a logical aberration. Or it is the war.

HIER DAARGINDS

1. De wereld is alles wat daarginds is.
2. Het geheel van de wereld is het geheel van de daargindsen van de wereld minus één daarginds dat hier is.
3. Hier is de som van alle daargindsen minus alle daargindsen minus één.
4. Van daarginds gezien ontbreekt er altijd een daarginds in het geheel van daargindsen van de wereld en het ontbrekende daarginds is hier. Zodat men geen heelal kan beschouwen dat enkel en alleen uit daargindsen bestaat. Echter, alles wat niet hier bestaat bestaat niet.
5. Waaruit volgt dat alle daargindsen tegelijk die niet hier zijn hier niet bestaan.
6. En dus bestaat de wereld niet. Behalve hier.
7. ‘Ga daarginds kijken of ik er ben’ is een moeilijk uit te voeren bevel
8. Alles wat daarginds is komt nooit hier, behalve wanneer men het er gaat halen en er blijft.
9. De waarde van hier verandert naar gelang van hier. ‘Dokter, ik heb pijn hier’ duidt op een ander hier dan ‘hier in Europa’, ‘hier in Europa’ sluit ‘dokter, ik heb pijn hier’ in als de pijn en de dokter ‘hier in Europa’ zijn. Daaruit volgt dat ‘dokter, ik heb pijn hier’ op een ander hier duidt dan ‘hier in Europa’, ook als ‘dokter, ik heb pijn hier’ zich ‘hier in Europa’ bevindt. Er bestaat dus een insluitrelatie tussen verschillende hieren aangezien hier altijd is ingesloten in een groter hier dan het zelf is.
10. Waaruit men afleidt dat elk hier bestaat uit een oneindig aantal hieren die het ene in het andere passen als Russische poppetjes, ook in Europa.
11. De relatie is niet wederkerig (‘hier in Europa’ sluit ‘ik heb pijn hier’ in, maar ‘ik heb pijn hier’ sluit niet ‘hier in Europa’ in).
12. Als diegene die ‘pijn hier’ heeft uit China belt naar de dokter die ‘in Europa’ is, dan is de relatie tussen beide hieren een zogenaamd spatiaal verschoven telediagnosticale relatie. Omdat ‘ik heb pijn hier’ is ingesloten in ‘hier in China’ en de dokter die zich ‘hier in Europa’ bevindt een diagnose moet stellen over de ‘pijn hier’ die niet ‘hier in Europa’ is.
13. Twee hieren = 1 daarginds dat niet hier is + 1 hier dat niet daarginds is (behalve daarginds).
14. Als hier geldt: daarginds = daarginds, geldt daarginds: hier = daarginds, maar daarginds is daarginds niet noodzakelijk gelijk aan hier.
15. De talloze daargindsen die daarginds zijn voor de andere daargindsen bestaan niet voor de andere daargindsen die niet bestaan voor hier.
16. Het geheel van andere daargindsen komt overeen met het geheel van potentiële hieren.
17. Een daarginds is nooit gelijk aan een ander daarginds ook wanneer hier twee daargindsen zonder onderscheid daarginds zijn.
18. Elk daarginds is het daarginds van alle andere daargindsen tegelijk.
19. De grens tussen hier en daarginds is niet heel duidelijk.
20. De uitdrukking ‘Ik ben daarginds’ is logisch onmogelijk, zoals bijvoorbeeld ‘Hij heeft zijn vodden. – Er hangt een raar luchtje aan dat geluid. – De eerste keer dat ik naar New York ging was in Californië. – We hebben samen drie zonen die enig kind zijn. – Ik weeg 1,81 m. – Ik tel het op de vingers van mijn heup. – Mijn moeder is nog maagd. – Open 24 uur op 24 uur tot 22.30 u. – Ik heb de enige broer van mijn zus vermoord. – 97% van de ondervraagde personen waren in leven. – Nieuw uurrooster voor het derde semester. – De tweelingen Jan Willem verschillen tien maand van elkaar – Zojuist werd het startsein gegeven voor de overtocht van Amerika al zwemmend. – Hij heeft de Ronde van Frankrijk van Friesland gewonnen. – De Oostenrijkse zeemacht kan ze kussen. – Te Rotterdam zijn alleen de Nederlandse dichters geen poets international.’
21. Een enkel hier voor twee daargindsen is een logische aberratie. Of anders is er oorlog.

ICI LA-BAS

1. Le monde est tout ce qui est là-bas.
2. La totalité du monde est la totalité des là-bas du monde moins un là-bas qui est ici.
3. Ici est la somme de tous les là-bas moins tous les là-bas moins un.
4. Vu de là-bas, il manque toujours un là-bas à la totalité des là-bas du monde, et ce là-bas manquant est ici. Si bien que l’on ne peut envisager un univers uniquement constitué de là-bas. Or tout ce qui n’est pas ici n’existe pas.
5. D’où il résulte que tous les là-bas à la fois qui ne sont pas ici n’existent pas ici.
6. Et donc le monde n’existe pas. Sauf ici.
7. ‘Allez voir là-bas si j’y suis’ est un ordre difficile à exécuter.
8. Tout ce qui est là-bas ne vient jamais ici, sauf si on va l’y chercher et qu’on y reste.
9. La valeur d’ici varie en fonction d’ici. ‘Docteur j’ai mal ici’ ne désigne pas le même ici que ‘ici en Europe’, ‘ici en Europe’ inclut ‘docteur j’ai mal ici’ si le mal et si le docteur sont ‘ici en Europe’. Il découle que ‘docteur j’ai mal ici’ ne désigne pas le même ici que ‘ici en Europe’ même si ‘docteur j’ai mal ici’ se trouve ‘ici en Europe’. Il existe donc une relation d’inclusion entre plusieurs ici puisque ici est toujours inclus dans un plus grand ici que lui.
10. D’où l’on déduit que chaque ici est constitué d’une infinité d’ici qui s’emboîtent les uns dans les autres comme des poupées russes, même en Europe.
11. Cette relation n’est pas réciproque (‘ici en Europe’ inclut ‘j’ai mal ici’, mais ‘j’ai mal ici’ n’inclut pas ‘ici en Europe’).
12. Si celui qui a ‘mal ici’ téléphone depuis la Chine au docteur qui est ‘en Europe’, la relation entre ces deux ici est une relation dite télédiagnosticale spacio-décalée. Parce que ‘j’ai mal ici’ est inclus dans ‘ici en Chine’ et que le docteur qui se trouve ‘ici en Europe’ doit diagnostiquer le ‘mal ici’ qui n’est pas ‘ici en Europe’.
13. Deux ici = 1 là-bas qui n’est pas ici + 1 ici qui n’est pas là-bas (sauf pour là-bas).
14. Si pour ici, là-bas = là-bas, pour là-bas, ici = là-bas, mais pour là-bas, là-bas n’égale pas forcément ici.
15. Les milliers de là-bas qui sont là-bas pour les autres là-bas n’existent pas pour ces autres là-bas qui n’existent pas pour ici.
16. La totalité des autres là-bas correspond à la totalité des potentiels d’ici.
17. Un là-bas n’égale jamais un autre là-bas même si pour ici, deux là-bas distincts sont indistinctement là-bas.
18. Chaque là-bas est le là-bas de tous les autres là-bas à la fois.
19. La frontière entre ici et là-bas n’est pas très nette.
20. L’énoncé ‘Je suis là-bas est une impossibilité logique, comme par exemple ‘Il a ses ragnagnas. – Ca sent un drôle de bruit - La première fois que je suis allé à New York c’était en Californie – Nous avons trois fils uniques – Je pèse 1,81 m – Je les compte sur les doigts de la hanche – Ma mère est encore pucelle – Ouvert 24 heures sur 24 jusqu’à 22h30 – J’ai assassiné le frère unique de ma sœur – 97% des personnes interrogées étaient en vie – Nouveaux horaires pour le troisième semestre – Les jumeaux Jean-Pierre ont dix mois d’écart – On vient de donner le départ de la traversée de l’Amérique à la nage – Il a gagné le Tour de France des Bouches-du-Rhône – La marine autrichienne, elle vous dit merde. – À Rotterdam, seuls les poètes néerlandais ne sont pas des poètes internationaux.’
21. Un seul ici pour deux là-bas est une aberration logique. Ou alors c’est la guerre.
Close

HERE AND THERE

1. The world is all that is there.
2. The totality of the world is the totality of theres of the world minus one there that is here.
3. Here is the sum of all the theres minus all the theres minus one.
4. Seen from there, there will always be one there missing from the totality of theres of the world, and that missing there is here. So that one cannot conceive a universe comprised of there only. However, all that is not here does not exist.
5. From which it follows that all the theres which are at the same time not here do not exist here.
6. And thus the world does not exist. Save here.
7. ‘Look over there and see if I am there’ is an order difficult to follow.
8. All that is there never comes here, save if one should go there to look for it and remain there.
9. The value of here varies according to here. ‘Doctor, I have a pain here’ does not designate the same here as ‘here in Europe’, ‘here in Europe’ includes ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ if the pain and the doctor are both ‘here in Europe.’ It follows that ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ does not designate the same here as ‘here in Europe’ even if ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ should happen to be ‘here in Europe.’ There exists therefore a relation of inclusion between many heres, since here is always included in a here larger than it.
10. From which it will be deduced that each here consists of an infinity of heres all nested in each other like matryoshka dolls, even in Europe.
11. This relation is not reciprocal (‘here in Europe’ includes ‘I have a pain here,’ but ‘I have a pain here’ does not include ‘here in Europe’).
12. If he who has ‘a pain here’ telephones from China for a doctor who is ‘in Europe,’ here the relation between the two is a relation known as space-shifted telediagnostical, since ‘I have a pain here’ is included in ‘here in China’ and the doctor who happens to be ‘here in Europe’ must diagnose the ‘pain here’ that is not ‘here in Europe.’
13. Two heres = 1 there who is not here + 1 here who is not there (except there).
14. If for here there = there, for there here = there; but for there, there does not necessarily equal here.
15. The thousands of theres which are there for other people over there do not exist for these other people over there who do not exist for here.
16. The totality of other people over there corresponds to the totality of the potentials of here.
17. One there never equals another, even if for here two distinct theres are indistinctly there.
18. Each there is the there of all the other theres at once.
19. The frontier between here and there is not very neat.
20. The statement ‘I am there’ is a logical impossibility, similar for example to the statements ‘He is on his period. That noise feels funny. The first time I went to New York it was in California. We have three only sons. I weigh 1.81 metres. I count them on the fingers of my hip. My mother is still a virgin. Open 24 hours until 10.30. I assassinated my sister’s only brother. 97% of the persons interrogated were alive. New timetables for the third half of the year. The Andrews twins are ten months older than each other. I have given the go-ahead for the big swim across America. He won the Tour de France of the Bouches-du-Rhône. The Austrian navy, it claims that you are shit. In Rotterdam, only the Dutch poets are not international.’
21. Just one here for two there is a logical aberration. Or it is the war.

HERE AND THERE

1. The world is all that is there.
2. The totality of the world is the totality of theres of the world minus one there that is here.
3. Here is the sum of all the theres minus all the theres minus one.
4. Seen from there, there will always be one there missing from the totality of theres of the world, and that missing there is here. So that one cannot conceive a universe comprised of there only. However, all that is not here does not exist.
5. From which it follows that all the theres which are at the same time not here do not exist here.
6. And thus the world does not exist. Save here.
7. ‘Look over there and see if I am there’ is an order difficult to follow.
8. All that is there never comes here, save if one should go there to look for it and remain there.
9. The value of here varies according to here. ‘Doctor, I have a pain here’ does not designate the same here as ‘here in Europe’, ‘here in Europe’ includes ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ if the pain and the doctor are both ‘here in Europe.’ It follows that ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ does not designate the same here as ‘here in Europe’ even if ‘doctor, I have a pain here’ should happen to be ‘here in Europe.’ There exists therefore a relation of inclusion between many heres, since here is always included in a here larger than it.
10. From which it will be deduced that each here consists of an infinity of heres all nested in each other like matryoshka dolls, even in Europe.
11. This relation is not reciprocal (‘here in Europe’ includes ‘I have a pain here,’ but ‘I have a pain here’ does not include ‘here in Europe’).
12. If he who has ‘a pain here’ telephones from China for a doctor who is ‘in Europe,’ here the relation between the two is a relation known as space-shifted telediagnostical, since ‘I have a pain here’ is included in ‘here in China’ and the doctor who happens to be ‘here in Europe’ must diagnose the ‘pain here’ that is not ‘here in Europe.’
13. Two heres = 1 there who is not here + 1 here who is not there (except there).
14. If for here there = there, for there here = there; but for there, there does not necessarily equal here.
15. The thousands of theres which are there for other people over there do not exist for these other people over there who do not exist for here.
16. The totality of other people over there corresponds to the totality of the potentials of here.
17. One there never equals another, even if for here two distinct theres are indistinctly there.
18. Each there is the there of all the other theres at once.
19. The frontier between here and there is not very neat.
20. The statement ‘I am there’ is a logical impossibility, similar for example to the statements ‘He is on his period. That noise feels funny. The first time I went to New York it was in California. We have three only sons. I weigh 1.81 metres. I count them on the fingers of my hip. My mother is still a virgin. Open 24 hours until 10.30. I assassinated my sister’s only brother. 97% of the persons interrogated were alive. New timetables for the third half of the year. The Andrews twins are ten months older than each other. I have given the go-ahead for the big swim across America. He won the Tour de France of the Bouches-du-Rhône. The Austrian navy, it claims that you are shit. In Rotterdam, only the Dutch poets are not international.’
21. Just one here for two there is a logical aberration. Or it is the war.
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