Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

C. (Cornelis) Buddingh’ 

THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

now i’ve been here a week. a year, a day –
seen all there is to be seen: dust, dust, dust –
eyes now only for the blue balloon of the earth
hanging above me, teeming with living life,
strangely enough, i don’t often think of my wife,
but could cry again and again
over that robot in denmark
who said to journalists:
i don’t think it’d be at all a bad thing
to be a human being

DE EERSTE MAN OP DE MAAN

DE EERSTE MAN OP DE MAAN

nu ik hier ben – een week, een jaar, een dag –
uitgekeken op alles: stof, stof, stof – alleen nog
voor de blauwe ballon van de aarde,
die boven mij hangt, krioelend van levend leven,
denk ik, vreemd genoeg, weinig aan mijn vrouw,
maar zou telkens weer kunnen huilen
om die robot in denemarken,
die tegen de journalisten zei:
het lijkt me nog niet zo gek
om een mens te mogen wezen
Close

THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

now i’ve been here a week. a year, a day –
seen all there is to be seen: dust, dust, dust –
eyes now only for the blue balloon of the earth
hanging above me, teeming with living life,
strangely enough, i don’t often think of my wife,
but could cry again and again
over that robot in denmark
who said to journalists:
i don’t think it’d be at all a bad thing
to be a human being

THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

now i’ve been here a week. a year, a day –
seen all there is to be seen: dust, dust, dust –
eyes now only for the blue balloon of the earth
hanging above me, teeming with living life,
strangely enough, i don’t often think of my wife,
but could cry again and again
over that robot in denmark
who said to journalists:
i don’t think it’d be at all a bad thing
to be a human being
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