Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Mária Ferenčuhová

IN TIDES

They simply came out of the woods.
As a herd, slowly,
they made their way to the city,
hooves clopping
on asphalt.
Traffic parted
as cars pulled over
to the side of the road.

Roes and does
headed for the suburbs
kneeling in front of gates,
on lawns.
Folding down their bodies
on pavements, on roadways,
at crossroads.
They bleat at us monotonously,
but baulk
when we reach
to stroke their heads.

Every day
new and novel species
appear, get used to us.
They approach us,
look us in the eye,
lead us out to sea.

Without fear
together
we stop breathing.

GETIJVERSCHIJNSELEN

Ze stapten gewoon uit het bos.
Een hele kudde loopt
langzaam naar de stad.
Hoeven klikken
op het asfalt:
auto’s verplaatsen zich
naar de kant van de weg.

Hinden en herten
zetten koers naar de huizen,
knielen voor de poorten,
vlijen zich neer op gazons,
stoepen, rijbanen
en kruispunten.
Ze blaten eentonig,
maar als je ze wilt aaien
keren ze hun hoofd af.

Elke dag
steeds nieuwe groepen
totaal niet meer schuw.
Ze komen naar ons toe,
kijken ons in de ogen,
leiden ons naar zee.

Zonder angst
samen
houden we op te ademen.

SLAPOVÉ JAVY

Jednoducho vyšli z lesa.
Celé stádo pomaly
vykročilo k mestu,
kopýtka klopú
na asfalt:
autá sa rozostúpia,
vylejú sa z ciest.

Srny a srnce
zamierili k domom,
pokľaknú pred bránami,
skladajú telá na trávniky,
chodníky, vozovku
i križovatky.
Monotónne bľačia,
no odvracajú hlavy,
ak ich chce niekto pohladiť.

Každý deň
nové a nové druhy
strácajú plachosť.
Prichádzajú k nám,
hľadia nám do očí,
vedú nás k moru.

Bez strachu
spolu prestávame dýchať.
Close

IN TIDES

They simply came out of the woods.
As a herd, slowly,
they made their way to the city,
hooves clopping
on asphalt.
Traffic parted
as cars pulled over
to the side of the road.

Roes and does
headed for the suburbs
kneeling in front of gates,
on lawns.
Folding down their bodies
on pavements, on roadways,
at crossroads.
They bleat at us monotonously,
but baulk
when we reach
to stroke their heads.

Every day
new and novel species
appear, get used to us.
They approach us,
look us in the eye,
lead us out to sea.

Without fear
together
we stop breathing.

IN TIDES

They simply came out of the woods.
As a herd, slowly,
they made their way to the city,
hooves clopping
on asphalt.
Traffic parted
as cars pulled over
to the side of the road.

Roes and does
headed for the suburbs
kneeling in front of gates,
on lawns.
Folding down their bodies
on pavements, on roadways,
at crossroads.
They bleat at us monotonously,
but baulk
when we reach
to stroke their heads.

Every day
new and novel species
appear, get used to us.
They approach us,
look us in the eye,
lead us out to sea.

Without fear
together
we stop breathing.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère