Yttje Cnossen was the RIXT poet of the month February 2020. You can read her original Frisian poems of that month here. The translation of one of them – ‘Corona’ – is published below.
Corona from the land of the rising dragon comes sneakily like a thief in the night the invisible in the name of the crown lays its hand on many a doorknob like a monster with a thousand heads it shoots its fiery arrows across the land picks up like the wind across the sea throws its drowning victims on the beach flees with the rebels through the cities sends wild warriors across the lands drops its cluster bombs from a virus in pets and people in fathers and mothers whomever gives way he apprehends paints their grey cheeks red makes the blood in their veins boil remains a mystery keeps him to himself via Spain and Germany it snatches a Belgian a man shivers a woman goes down young people are a leaf for its mouth everybody is rowing while tethered to the ground where is the knight to slay this monster with a serum as their double-bladed sword that will release the people of their fear and fever that will bite the fire breathing dragon in its tail © Yttje Cnossen Translation: Trevor M. Scarse