Tryntsje van der Veer was the RIXT Poet of the Month in June. You can find the translation of her poem ‘L’univers du voyeur’ below. Her original Frisian poems are linked here.
L’univers du voyeur
never did I see you nor did I meet you
on vibrant paintings full of creatures in
creatures playing on Jacob’s ladders
bits and pieces wrapped in absurdities
never did I hear your name twirling
me along into your imagination cruel
cold and ugly but then sweetly coy
baffled I step backwards and wait
never did I read your words as a savant
the healer who makes me waver
lets me into his wondrous world of
streaky bodies in paint and crayon
never did I see your serpentine creatures
sprouting out of the ground entwined
the mess of threads confusing me
yet slowly my thoughts untangle
© Tryntsje van der Veer
translation: Trevor Scarse