Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Luuk Gruwez

Hell under a skirt

Barely she still calls me mister,
the shrew that’s training me.
Disguised as the dog of the house,
I must sniff at her existence
and bark when something is suspicious.

For she has the corrupted mind
of one who has been lonely a long time.
I follow the rolled hem of her skirt,
must come along to butcher and to baker,
in the evening do my tricks to get a bone,
in the morning on her counterpane I wake.

The things of which I am ashamed
are not the things that I have done,
but that I only craved:
I do want to bite into her calves,
But my teeth are no longer sharp.

De hel onder een rok

De hel onder een rok

Zij noemt mij zelden nog meneer,
de helleveeg die mij dresseert.
Ik ga vermomd als hond des huizes,
moet snuffelen aan haar bestaan
en keffen als er iets niet pluis is.

Want zij heeft de verdorven geest
van wie lang eenzaam is geweest.
Ik volg de krielzoom van haar rok,
moet mee naar slager en naar bakker;
doe ’s avonds kunstjes voor een been,
word ’s ochtends op haar bedsprei wakker.

De dingen waar ik mij voor schaam
zijn niet de dingen die ik heb gedaan,
maar die ik enkel heb begeerd:
ik wíl wel in haar kuiten bijten,
maar heb geen scherpe tanden meer.
Close

Hell under a skirt

Barely she still calls me mister,
the shrew that’s training me.
Disguised as the dog of the house,
I must sniff at her existence
and bark when something is suspicious.

For she has the corrupted mind
of one who has been lonely a long time.
I follow the rolled hem of her skirt,
must come along to butcher and to baker,
in the evening do my tricks to get a bone,
in the morning on her counterpane I wake.

The things of which I am ashamed
are not the things that I have done,
but that I only craved:
I do want to bite into her calves,
But my teeth are no longer sharp.

Hell under a skirt

Barely she still calls me mister,
the shrew that’s training me.
Disguised as the dog of the house,
I must sniff at her existence
and bark when something is suspicious.

For she has the corrupted mind
of one who has been lonely a long time.
I follow the rolled hem of her skirt,
must come along to butcher and to baker,
in the evening do my tricks to get a bone,
in the morning on her counterpane I wake.

The things of which I am ashamed
are not the things that I have done,
but that I only craved:
I do want to bite into her calves,
But my teeth are no longer sharp.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère