Fedde Dijkstra was RIXT Poet of the Month September 2022. You can read his original Frisian poems from that month here. The translation of one of them – ‘CLOSE ENOUGH’ – is published here. Fedde Dijkstra is a guest poet of RIXT.
CLOSE ENOUGH
in between the forest’s breaths
cars rumble across the concrete
a pigeon flaps out of a tree
two clocks ticking at each other
and through the French windows
a cat traipses stealthily
inside, nothing barring its way,
through the corridor, up the stairs
where it plays with a little ball
which on its own accord
ba
donk
a
donk
a
donk
bounces down the stairs
a blackbird sounds the alarm
the neighbour calls her kids inside
and a siren comes in
nothing is perfect
but everything falls into place
close enough for jazz
© Fedde Dijkstra
translation: Trevor Scarse