Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Jean Daive

FIRST NOTEBOOK

All the children are swaddled

as white
as
dried beans
sheltered from the air

for time
even recycles
pots
of jam

Indian graves
at lake
Koshkonong

and upon this memory

a ball rolls
up to the sacred
excavations.

The golfers
play
among the corpses.




The oath is not more
newsworthy

than the government
of words
around the table

a Sunday
at home.

Everything keeps
a smell of milk
and clean house.




What is the role
of the water
pump

in a peacefuly day ?

It's raining.
The wind rises.

The river
softer

than the rain
falling
on the roof

lights up.

Water is everywhere
outside.




The window.
Always.

And what it shows
in a reduced space.

Couch.
Chair and table.

Bed. Floor.

Stove.

Enameled oven.

The memories are there
along the river
that moves on.




The window opposite
lights up the same objects

but in inverse order.

Space forms a square.
Four angles.

Grass is airy and

the trees –
      witnesses.




A wild
bank retained
by stones.

Trunks. Branches.

Grass and pink
mushrooms.

The clouds are very low.

The pump has
certainly
captured History.

The radiator
bad weather.

This field in front of the landing
is very damp.




Dispossession

since it's natural
to flow

has value of nocturnal
transfers
of exchanges.

Children
well replace
trees.

PREMIER CAHIER

PREMIER CAHIER

Tous les enfants sont langés

aussi blancs
que
haricots secs
à l'abri de l'air

car le temps
recycle même
les pots
de confiture.

Les tombes indiennes
devant le lac
Koshkonong –

et sur cette mémoire

une balle roule
jusque dans les excavations
sacrées.

Les golfeurs
jouent
au milieu des cadavres.




Le serment n'est pas plus
à l'ordre du jour

que le gouvernement
des mots
autour de la table

un dimanche
en famille.

Tout maintient
une odeur de lait
et de maison propre.




Quel est le rôle
de la pompe
à eau

dans une journée paisible ?

Il pleut.
Le vent se lève.

La rivière plus
douce

que la pluie qui
tombe
sur le toit

illumine.

L'eau est partout
dehors.




La fenêtre.
Toujours.

Et ce qu'elle montre
dans un espace réduit.

Divan.
Fauteuil et table.

Lit. Plancher.

Cuisinière.

Four émaillé.

Les souvenirs sont là
le long de la rivière
qui s'éloigne.




La fenêtre opposée
éclaire les mêmes objets

mais dans l'ordre inverse.

L'espace forme un carré.
Quatre angles.

L'herbe est aérienne et

les arbres –
     témoins.




Une berge
sauvage retenue
par des pierres.

Des troncs. Des branches.

De l'herbe et des champignons
roses.

Les nuages sont très bas.

La pompe a
certainement
capturé l'Histoire.

Le radiateur
les intempéries.

Ce pré devant l'embarcadère
est très humide.




La dépossession

lorsqu'elle est de nature
à s'écouler

a valeur de cessions
nocturnes
d'échanges.

Des enfants
remplacent bien
les arbres.
Poems
Poems of Jean Daive
Close

FIRST NOTEBOOK

All the children are swaddled

as white
as
dried beans
sheltered from the air

for time
even recycles
pots
of jam

Indian graves
at lake
Koshkonong

and upon this memory

a ball rolls
up to the sacred
excavations.

The golfers
play
among the corpses.




The oath is not more
newsworthy

than the government
of words
around the table

a Sunday
at home.

Everything keeps
a smell of milk
and clean house.




What is the role
of the water
pump

in a peacefuly day ?

It's raining.
The wind rises.

The river
softer

than the rain
falling
on the roof

lights up.

Water is everywhere
outside.




The window.
Always.

And what it shows
in a reduced space.

Couch.
Chair and table.

Bed. Floor.

Stove.

Enameled oven.

The memories are there
along the river
that moves on.




The window opposite
lights up the same objects

but in inverse order.

Space forms a square.
Four angles.

Grass is airy and

the trees –
      witnesses.




A wild
bank retained
by stones.

Trunks. Branches.

Grass and pink
mushrooms.

The clouds are very low.

The pump has
certainly
captured History.

The radiator
bad weather.

This field in front of the landing
is very damp.




Dispossession

since it's natural
to flow

has value of nocturnal
transfers
of exchanges.

Children
well replace
trees.

FIRST NOTEBOOK

All the children are swaddled

as white
as
dried beans
sheltered from the air

for time
even recycles
pots
of jam

Indian graves
at lake
Koshkonong

and upon this memory

a ball rolls
up to the sacred
excavations.

The golfers
play
among the corpses.




The oath is not more
newsworthy

than the government
of words
around the table

a Sunday
at home.

Everything keeps
a smell of milk
and clean house.




What is the role
of the water
pump

in a peacefuly day ?

It's raining.
The wind rises.

The river
softer

than the rain
falling
on the roof

lights up.

Water is everywhere
outside.




The window.
Always.

And what it shows
in a reduced space.

Couch.
Chair and table.

Bed. Floor.

Stove.

Enameled oven.

The memories are there
along the river
that moves on.




The window opposite
lights up the same objects

but in inverse order.

Space forms a square.
Four angles.

Grass is airy and

the trees –
      witnesses.




A wild
bank retained
by stones.

Trunks. Branches.

Grass and pink
mushrooms.

The clouds are very low.

The pump has
certainly
captured History.

The radiator
bad weather.

This field in front of the landing
is very damp.




Dispossession

since it's natural
to flow

has value of nocturnal
transfers
of exchanges.

Children
well replace
trees.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère