Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Roberto Amato

We happened to enter unfamiliar places

We happened to enter unfamiliar places
for example my bathroom or your broom closet.
Then we observed our domestic animals at length
especially the owl (a bad omen
so as you say).

And the hours we spent checking each
and every star in our slice of sky . . .
to make sure each one was in its place and that nothing
had changed without my consent.

But in any case I always said yes.
I agreed to all the changes.
And in this I am very much like your husband who lets you move the furniture round
or who probably doesn’t even notice.
But maybe you don’t actually move the furniture round and you just like to imagine
a different house.
My thoughts however are quite clear:
the bed must go in the kitchen because it’s the place where dreams happen.
The sofas in the bathroom:
life is extremely hard there and in any case it escapes us and must be caught by the hair
(and

later all we have to do is rest)

We belandden op onbekende plekken

We belandden op onbekende plekken
bijvoorbeeld in mijn badkamer of in jouw bezemkast.
Vervolgens observeerden we langdurig onze huisdieren
in het bijzonder jouw ransuil (volgens jou
een verspreider van de pest).

En de uren die we doorbrachten met het een voor een
controleren van de sterren aan onze hemelhelft . . .
dat iedere ster zijn plek had en dat niets veranderd
was zonder mijn goedkeuring.

Maar uiteindelijk heb ik altijd ja gezegd.
Ik heb ingestemd met alle veranderingen.
Hierin lijk ik op jouw echtgenoot die het goed vindt dat je meubilair verplaatst
of daar helemaal niets van merkt.
Maar misschien verplaats jij geen meubilair en vind
je de alleen de gedachte hoe je huis er anders uit kan zien
aantrekkelijk.
Ik heb daarentegen nogal vastomlijnde ideeën:
het bed moet in de keuken staan want dat is de plek waar men droomt.
Het bankstel naar de badkamer
daarbinnen is het leven hardvochtig en in ieder geval neemt
het de benen en wordt het aan zijn haren vastgegrepen
(en

daarna wil je alleen nog maar bijkomen).

Ci è capitato di entrare in luoghi sconosciuti
ad esempio il mio bagno o il tuo ripostiglio delle scope.
Poi abbiamo osservato a lungo i nostri animali domestici
soprattutto il tuo gufo (secondo te
un untore).

E le ore che abbiamo passato a controllare una per una
tutte le stelle del nostro semicielo…
che ognuna fosse al suo posto e che nulla
fosse cambiato senza il mio assenso.

Ma in fondo ho sempre detto di sì.
Sono stato d’accordo con tutti i mutamenti.
E in questo sono come tuo marito che ti lascia spostare i mobili
anzi che non se ne accorge nemmeno.
Ma forse tu non li sposti i mobili e ti piace solo pensarla diversa
la tua casa.
Io invece ho delle idee piuttosto precise:
il letto va messo in cucina perché quello è il luogo dove si sogna.
I divani nel bagno:
lì la vita è durissima e in ogni caso sfugge e va presa per i capelli
(e

dopo si deve solo riposare).
Close

We happened to enter unfamiliar places

We happened to enter unfamiliar places
for example my bathroom or your broom closet.
Then we observed our domestic animals at length
especially the owl (a bad omen
so as you say).

And the hours we spent checking each
and every star in our slice of sky . . .
to make sure each one was in its place and that nothing
had changed without my consent.

But in any case I always said yes.
I agreed to all the changes.
And in this I am very much like your husband who lets you move the furniture round
or who probably doesn’t even notice.
But maybe you don’t actually move the furniture round and you just like to imagine
a different house.
My thoughts however are quite clear:
the bed must go in the kitchen because it’s the place where dreams happen.
The sofas in the bathroom:
life is extremely hard there and in any case it escapes us and must be caught by the hair
(and

later all we have to do is rest)

We happened to enter unfamiliar places

We happened to enter unfamiliar places
for example my bathroom or your broom closet.
Then we observed our domestic animals at length
especially the owl (a bad omen
so as you say).

And the hours we spent checking each
and every star in our slice of sky . . .
to make sure each one was in its place and that nothing
had changed without my consent.

But in any case I always said yes.
I agreed to all the changes.
And in this I am very much like your husband who lets you move the furniture round
or who probably doesn’t even notice.
But maybe you don’t actually move the furniture round and you just like to imagine
a different house.
My thoughts however are quite clear:
the bed must go in the kitchen because it’s the place where dreams happen.
The sofas in the bathroom:
life is extremely hard there and in any case it escapes us and must be caught by the hair
(and

later all we have to do is rest)
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