for the many years I've written poetry, english has always been the language
I've used & into which I've delved to find new ways of expressing ________.
but I adore finnish for its phonology, the possibilities for assonance &
consonance & alliteration are innumerable, even more available than those of
english. the compounding nature of its nouns & the mutability of its verbs
also makes it a very interesting language to write poetry in, as long as the
point of view is interesting enough (i.e. approach). so I've written a draft
of a poem in finnish, and I'll share it here with you despite the fact that
nobody on this list will understand it (Patrick will probably babelfish it,
as he is wont). I may do a translation at some point, and maybe the sounds
will amuse you. point is I want this out there somewhere other than my
notebook. I read it the other night to one or two people I know in the bar I
frequent, and they liked it. one guy said it left a smile on his face --
this coming from someone not versed at all in verse. anyway here it is. it
has no name.
ulkona lumettaa,
lumisee, lumisoi--
ja nyt ei enää.
raitiovaijerit pilkkovat kuun
kuin pyöreän juustokiekon,
kadun kitara riekkuu sohjossa santaisesti,
naristen ja märästi,
härkätien kitinää ja kipinää--
ja mahaansa muriseva taivas
kuin rappuni naapurin kuorsaus
tai nälkaisen kaiku.
KS
|