Friday, January 7, 2011

Old Silence



            ergens moet het zijn
            een soort verwilderde tuin
            van oude stilte

            de boom voor het huis
            zacht wazelt hij zijn verhaal
            niemand begrijpt het

            het heeft geregend
            de tuin dampt goede geuren
            aarde die verlangt

            J.C. van Schagen (1891-1985)

Is it possible to let such a grand poem undergo a Google translation?
I have tried it, changed some words and this is the result.

            it must be somewhere
            a sort of overgrown garden
            of old silence
 

            the tree in front of the house
            softly rambles his story
            nobody understands it

            it has been raining
            the garden evaporates good smells
            earth that yearns

However, to really capture the sense of a poem in a translation is a true art.
You need thorough knowledge of the original language.
But I cannot imagine that it can be done without the heart and soul of the poet, the spirit.
Must be a monks work.

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