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Poem

Shulamit Apfel

A QUESTION FOR GRACE


I feel dead. I never managed to ask Grace
if one may open a text with such a statement,
meanwhile we left New York to pick apples
and on both sides of the road pumpkins burned around us.
I’d never travelled inside a sleeve
so orange
and when we stopped to drink cider at a local inn
I imagined I saw Grace’s gray head
among the wheat-haired people
and at home I read that she was dead.

שאלת גרייס

שאלת גרייס

 
אֲנִי מַרְגִּישָׁה מֵתָה. לֹא הִסְפַּקְתִּי לִשְׁאֹל אֶת גְרֵיס
אִם מְקֻבָּל לְהַתְחִיל טֶקְסְט בְּהַצְהָרָה כָּזוֹ
בֵּינְתַיִם עָזַבְנוּ אֶת נְיוּ יוֹרְק לִקְטִיף תַּפּוּחִים
מִשְׁנֵי צִדֵי הַכְּבִישׁ בָּעֲרוּ דְלָעוֹת סְבִיבֵנוּ
אַף פַּעַם לֹא נָסַעְתִּי בְּתוֹךְ שַׁרְווּל
כָּתֹם כָּל כָּךְ
וּכְשֶׁעָצַרְנוּ לִשְׁתּוֹת סַיְדֶּר בְּפֻנְדָּק מְקוֹמִי
דִּמִּיתִי לִרְאוֹת בֵּין אַנְשֵׁי הַחִטָּה
אֶת רֹאשׁ הַשֵׂיבָה שֶׁל גְרֵיס
בַבַּיִת קָרָאתִי שֶׁהִיא מֵתָה
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A QUESTION FOR GRACE


I feel dead. I never managed to ask Grace
if one may open a text with such a statement,
meanwhile we left New York to pick apples
and on both sides of the road pumpkins burned around us.
I’d never travelled inside a sleeve
so orange
and when we stopped to drink cider at a local inn
I imagined I saw Grace’s gray head
among the wheat-haired people
and at home I read that she was dead.

A QUESTION FOR GRACE


I feel dead. I never managed to ask Grace
if one may open a text with such a statement,
meanwhile we left New York to pick apples
and on both sides of the road pumpkins burned around us.
I’d never travelled inside a sleeve
so orange
and when we stopped to drink cider at a local inn
I imagined I saw Grace’s gray head
among the wheat-haired people
and at home I read that she was dead.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère