Cecilie Løveid:
Rye (Rug)
If I were a rye field not a daughter and you were a manout walking. Had I been sown early enough and
progressed far enough for the East wind to take hold of
me and make me begin to undulate.
Would you come into my waves then?
Yes, suddenly you stood there beside med as I'd
dreamed, with your dark moustache blue clothing and
high boots.
Then you flew
with your warm belly so close above the rye spikes that
the air smelled like freshly baked bread.
I opened new areas of myself in long, undulating
movements, higher waves. Then you had to look at
your watch as you flew. Had to know how long you'd
been hovering.
You left a hollow of broken heads of grain, the body's
fluttering imprint at the moment of falling.
But I have other acres of land and a fantasy that has
survived countless adventures.
Translated by Nadia Christensen, for the novel Sea Swell Orig. title Sug by Cecilie Løveid.
Quartet Books London New York 1986
Cecilie Løveid:
THE TYPEFOUNDRESS
Time was we could interpret all the signs.It wasn't a dream though it seemed like one.
We were masters of the black arts, able to interpret the
hand that affected a certain pose,
the word that fit.
We knew what it means to pour with
the left hand. What it all meant.
What nobody knows anymore.
We wore the loveliest pearls around our
necks.
Water's memory was contained within us.
All that there was, what mad us cry and want to
kiss or move into a telephone kiosk.
Later, things were not as clear for me.
My soul had to be led down the road
while Iasked everyone to say who they were
because I could not see them, and
I had no wish to appear arrogant.
But I awoke to light. The world was
yet filled with signs and instructions.
Tears, vixens, bells, and hands
awaited me.Then it was I gave up cards, almanacs and religious images.
"Gartnerløs" 2007. Translated from the Norwegian by Anthony Barnett
We wore the loveliest pearls around our
necks.
Water's memory was contained within us.
All that there was, what mad us cry and want to
kiss or move into a telephone kiosk.
Later, things were not as clear for me.
My soul had to be led down the road
while Iasked everyone to say who they were
because I could not see them, and
I had no wish to appear arrogant.
But I awoke to light. The world was
yet filled with signs and instructions.
Tears, vixens, bells, and hands
awaited me.Then it was I gave up cards, almanacs and religious images.
"Gartnerløs" 2007. Translated from the Norwegian by Anthony Barnett