Jan Kooistra was the RIXT poet of the month in November. You can read his original Frisian poems from that month here. The translation of one of his poems – ‘Balloo Heath’ – is published here.
Balloo Heath on the Balloo Heath no one’s building bunkers with no chance of rockets raining down no walls are being built, no fences set up on the Balloo Heath there are no protests there is no black and no white, no hustling or bustling, no violence and no aggravation on the Balloo Heath there is pain nor thirst no poverty or illness, no resentment and no motherless child without a tomorrow on the Balloo Heath the dead are fast asleep in their timeworn graves because they know yellowhammers and godwits will return from afar on the Balloo Heath the trees always cry in late November, is that why the days are so silent here on the Balloo Heath? © Jan Kooistra translation: Trevor Scarse