Give Shelter by Johannes V. Jensen (1901)

Giv shelteh to too peopew
who of been walkin' real fah
we caym from "this poiwnt fowehd"
on ouwah way to "oveh deyah."
Lettusin!

De geese gow walkin' baehfoots
You cood say we'eh buhds of a fedeh.
Ouweh hous stands out in deh dahkness
in deh same stohmy wehdeh.
Lettusin!

We hav a hows oveh yondeh
an' yoo can beleev itsa manshun.
De walls ah thick wid the howlinest wind
an' deh rooms ah roofed wid rain.
Lettusin!

Sho', you can coun'onit.
you can even ask mah dahwteh.
she ain't got no udeh paren,
and she cant tawk no hee'ah.
Lettusin!

By Johannes V. Jensen (1901)
Translated from the Danish by Kevin O'Donnell, 2009
The original poem uses non-standard spelling to convey an accent from southern Jutland and, furthermore, of an itinerant homeless person. My translation does not try to convey any particular dialect, but a mixture of English language variations. It's just a puzzle that you have to read. Use your vocal chords!

When the seconds . . . (Wenn die Uhren so nah)

When the seconds pass as closely as
within the beating of this very heart
and the things about us plead
in timid voices,
are you there?

Then I am not the one who woke this morning,
with the names the night had given me,
nor am I he of whom I've told the day
in fear and anxiety -

Every door
is open to me still . . .

And then I know that nothing's lost,
no gesture and no prayer
(which would be all too difficult)
but all my childhood has stood,
ever, all around me here.
Never am I alone.
The many who have loved me
and these same many far away
are woven,
woven
into my own - I am.

And I sit down beside you here
and say to you softly - I hurt -
Do you hear?

Then the one who knows who
whispers too.


Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
Translated from the German by Kevin O'Donnell (2011)