Kendall Dunkelberg
الانجليزية
Avondgebed
Wind en regen sloten de vensters.
Wij zaten geknield bij de haard
In de godsdienst die wij zouden erven.
De vrouw die ons had gebaard
zei formules om ons te verkleinen.
Haar stem zeurde taai in de nek.
Wij zaten stom, pas ingewijden.
De man die ons had verwekt
hief de hand. Wij boden het hoofd.
Hij prentte zijn duim in de hersens.
Wind en regen bestookten de droom.
Onder bed sliepen wolven en heksen.
Amsterdam: De Arbeiderspers, 1989
الإنتاج المسموع: Flemish Literature Fund, Antwerp, 2007.
Evening prayer
Wind and rain closed the windows
We sat kneeling by the hearth
in the religion we would inherit.
The woman who bore us
cast spells to make us small.
Her voice droned dully on our necks.
We sat mute, newly initiated.
The man who had begotten us
raised his hand. We offered our heads.
He imprinted his thumb in our brains.
Wind and rain bombarded the dream.
Under the bed, slept wolves and witches.
From: The Literary Review, vol. 40, no. 3, 1997.