Poem
Maung Pyiyt Min
A Bunch of 52 Keys
LightsCamera
Action!
Let’s peep through the first keyhole.
This key doesn’t fit.
This one is too rusty.
Throw it away, far away.
This key is in Saturn.
Unhook all the red keys.
This one wrapped in rubber
Doesn’t show where it’s from.
A key will bend when upturned suddenly.
A key found on a street is never useful.
A useful key, you never find on a street.
Dukkha is a woman who has dropped her key.
You cannot open it with dukkha, only with a key.
Old keys, in bunches of four, three, two.
Leave this for the man with swine rabies.
Reserve these for others with a similar condition.
A car key for a car.
A free key for a free rider.
A key is not a toy.
Wait
Let’s begin at the beginning,
Let’s peep through the first keyhole.
This key doesn’t fit.
© Translation: 2011, ko ko thett and James Byrne
From: Bones Will Crow: Fifteen Contemporary Burmese Poets
Publisher: Arc, Todmorden, UK, 2012
From: Bones Will Crow: Fifteen Contemporary Burmese Poets
Publisher: Arc, Todmorden, UK, 2012
A BUNCH OF 52 KEYS
Poems
Poems of Maung Pyiyt Min
Close
A Bunch of 52 Keys
LightsCamera
Action!
Let’s peep through the first keyhole.
This key doesn’t fit.
This one is too rusty.
Throw it away, far away.
This key is in Saturn.
Unhook all the red keys.
This one wrapped in rubber
Doesn’t show where it’s from.
A key will bend when upturned suddenly.
A key found on a street is never useful.
A useful key, you never find on a street.
Dukkha is a woman who has dropped her key.
You cannot open it with dukkha, only with a key.
Old keys, in bunches of four, three, two.
Leave this for the man with swine rabies.
Reserve these for others with a similar condition.
A car key for a car.
A free key for a free rider.
A key is not a toy.
Wait
Let’s begin at the beginning,
Let’s peep through the first keyhole.
This key doesn’t fit.
© 2011, ko ko thett and James Byrne
From: Bones Will Crow: Fifteen Contemporary Burmese Poets
Publisher: 2012, Arc, Todmorden, UK
From: Bones Will Crow: Fifteen Contemporary Burmese Poets
Publisher: 2012, Arc, Todmorden, UK
A Bunch of 52 Keys
LightsCamera
Action!
Let’s peep through the first keyhole.
This key doesn’t fit.
This one is too rusty.
Throw it away, far away.
This key is in Saturn.
Unhook all the red keys.
This one wrapped in rubber
Doesn’t show where it’s from.
A key will bend when upturned suddenly.
A key found on a street is never useful.
A useful key, you never find on a street.
Dukkha is a woman who has dropped her key.
You cannot open it with dukkha, only with a key.
Old keys, in bunches of four, three, two.
Leave this for the man with swine rabies.
Reserve these for others with a similar condition.
A car key for a car.
A free key for a free rider.
A key is not a toy.
Wait
Let’s begin at the beginning,
Let’s peep through the first keyhole.
This key doesn’t fit.
© 2011, ko ko thett and James Byrne
From: Bones Will Crow: Fifteen Contemporary Burmese Poets
Publisher: 2012, Arc, Todmorden, UK
From: Bones Will Crow: Fifteen Contemporary Burmese Poets
Publisher: 2012, Arc, Todmorden, UK
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère