Thursday, June 16, 2005

A five-year old poet

I found a rather recent book in the library consisting of poems by a five-year old boy, Elias Tenkanen. It's quite nice and I've translated bits of it (hope no one's accusing me of stealing or anything).

DON'T BE ANGRY TO A CHILD

He's just a nice child
children are calm
it's not a child's fault
blueberry can drop all by itself.

***

I SPEAK FRENCH

I'm a French-speaking mother
I say "unklendo"
it means "you cannot walk"
I'm the mother to all my children
and all of them can walk.

***

I saw some air fish flying up here
I caught them
and ate them.

***

Poems are difficult
sounding like the same words
quite like the same.

***

POEM ABOUT COMING OF A POEM AFTER A COUGH

Simsalabim
it pitches the door open
and then it's there
and falls into a paper

with pen
from pen on to the paper
and it knows what's going on
and says
simsalabim

***

If I knew what I was doing
when I long in the world
to be by the boring?

In the world
I'd build something as lovely as this
I'd poetize the best poem.

***

The book is called "Goes Round Like a Charmed Day" and is over 70 pages long. It's published by Kansan Sivistystyön Liitto (um... the Union for the Civilization of the People... uh.. forget it, but the book is wonderful).

"Berlin, third message" on its way. Tomorrow. Maybe not. Damn, this proof reading is a boring job!

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