Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Ulrike Almut Sandig

A LITTLE GROUP OF RESEARCHERS

a little group                                    of researchers from
Hearken and Aachen              stubbornly claim that once
there was something that looked like a great and
impossibly beautiful, a singing house with two different-
sized horns instead of a roof and, spanning from gable to
gable, its many wafer-thin walls, like otherwise only
circus tents have. oh absolute amateurs! those researchers
from Hearken and Aachen are laughed out of court. but
we believe them and scour their papers for what is known
of this house, which is this: that when you stroked it, the
doors would creak softly. that when you went in, its three-
hundred and fifty windows would begin to hum. and that
when you wandered inside, moving pictures would light
up the dark of the walls, so you could scarcely believe
your own eyes. that’s what it said in all the reports. post
scriptum it should be noted that the researchers from
Hearken and Aachen called it a house. on this point, they
were sadly mistaken.  in truth it was the poem of a house.

EEN GROEPJE ONDERZOEKERS

een                                                                        groepje
onderzoekers                                      uit Aken en Hoorn
beweert bij hoog en bij laag dat er ooit iets was dat eruit
zag als een groot en ongelooflijk mooi, een zingend huis
met twee ongelijke horens in plaats van een dak en met
heel wat van puntgevel tot puntgevel gespannen,
flinterdunne wanden zoals die anders alleen bij
circustenten voorkomen. haha, stelletje leken! jullie lachen
de onderzoekers uit Aken en Hoorn hardop uit. maar wij
geloven hen en lezen in hun werk wat over dat huis
bekend is: namelijk dat als je het krabde de deuren zacht
begonnen te kraken. als je het betrad, dan zoemden de
driehonderdvijftig ramen. en als je er doorheen liep,
lichtten er in het donker van de wanden zoveel kleine
bewegende plaatjes op dat je je ogen haast niet geloofde!
zo staat het te boek in de verslagen. post scriptum valt nog
dit op te merken: de onderzoekers uit Aken en Hoorn
noemden het een huis. op dit punt echter zaten ze ernaast.
in werkelijkheid ging het om een huizengedicht.

ein                                                                  Grüppchen
von Forschern                           aus Lauscha und Aachen
behauptet beharrlich, dass es einst etwas gab, das aussah
wie ein großes und unerhört schönes, ein singendes Haus
mit zwei ungleichen Hörnern anstatt eines Daches und
vielen von Giebel zu Giebel gespannten, hauchdünnen
Wänden, wie sonst nur Zirkuszelte sie tragen. ei, dumme
Laien! sie lachen die Forscher aus Lauscha und Aachen
laut aus. wir aber glauben ihnen und lesen in ihren
Schriften, was man über jenes Haus weiß: nämlich wenn
man es kraulte, dann knarrte es leis mit den Türen. wenn
man es betrat, dann summten seine dreihundertfünfzig
Fenster.
und wenn man darin spazierte, dann blinkten im Dunkeln
der Wände bewegliche Bilderchen auf, dass man seinen
Augen kaum traute! so steht es in den Berichten. post
scriptum sei noch zu bemerken: die Forscher aus Lauscha
und Aachen nanntens ein Haus. in diesem Punkt jedoch
irrten sie sich. in Wirklichkeit wars ein Häusergedicht.
Close

A LITTLE GROUP OF RESEARCHERS

a little group                                    of researchers from
Hearken and Aachen              stubbornly claim that once
there was something that looked like a great and
impossibly beautiful, a singing house with two different-
sized horns instead of a roof and, spanning from gable to
gable, its many wafer-thin walls, like otherwise only
circus tents have. oh absolute amateurs! those researchers
from Hearken and Aachen are laughed out of court. but
we believe them and scour their papers for what is known
of this house, which is this: that when you stroked it, the
doors would creak softly. that when you went in, its three-
hundred and fifty windows would begin to hum. and that
when you wandered inside, moving pictures would light
up the dark of the walls, so you could scarcely believe
your own eyes. that’s what it said in all the reports. post
scriptum it should be noted that the researchers from
Hearken and Aachen called it a house. on this point, they
were sadly mistaken.  in truth it was the poem of a house.

A LITTLE GROUP OF RESEARCHERS

a little group                                    of researchers from
Hearken and Aachen              stubbornly claim that once
there was something that looked like a great and
impossibly beautiful, a singing house with two different-
sized horns instead of a roof and, spanning from gable to
gable, its many wafer-thin walls, like otherwise only
circus tents have. oh absolute amateurs! those researchers
from Hearken and Aachen are laughed out of court. but
we believe them and scour their papers for what is known
of this house, which is this: that when you stroked it, the
doors would creak softly. that when you went in, its three-
hundred and fifty windows would begin to hum. and that
when you wandered inside, moving pictures would light
up the dark of the walls, so you could scarcely believe
your own eyes. that’s what it said in all the reports. post
scriptum it should be noted that the researchers from
Hearken and Aachen called it a house. on this point, they
were sadly mistaken.  in truth it was the poem of a house.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère