3) Der Hund auf dem Schiff
3) Der Hund auf dem Schiff:
Credo quia absurdum
Hechelnd, daß die Angst ihn nicht greift, nicht einwächst
in den hohen witternden Kopf, ihn engt, wo
sonst die Welt sich zeigt, weil sie riecht, ihr Atem
härtet zu Dingen,
steht der Hund gespannt auf dem Stahlsteg, schnüffelt
irr, wo nichts mehr sicher ist, nirgends Fährten,
selbst sein Herr in Spiegeln versinkt, und weiter
folgt er ihm fraglos.
(2.10. 2017, Nachbild von den Fähre Amsterdam-Newcastle)
Translation by Madeleine Evison
Dog on the dock
Panting, against the fear that grabs, that spreads
across the highly sensitive mind, his world constricts
where otherwise it shows itself, because the scent,
the air hardens to objects
The dog stands tense on the steel dock, sniffing
widly, where nothing is certain anymore, tracks nowhere
even his master disappears into reflections, and onwards
unquestionably he follows him.
Translation by Elisha Herring
The Dog on the Ship
Panting, so that fear does not strike, nor takes root
in his hunting mind, and constricts that mind where
the world oft appears, due to scent, its breathing
makes things show themselves,
excited, the dog stands on the deck sniffing
madly, down an uncertain path, a lost track,
his man sinks into the mirror, and he goes
after him gladly.