Light – it has its whips – heron squawks
falling and staining the day
and no one recognises his day in it
But may you come to hide in this voice
among the flowering trees – the bare boulders
and the trunks – the tongue of the lichens
the coal in its hideaway
Towards the alpine pasture – higher up – blind
the shot-off capercaillie’s head
a billhook of blood flying veering over the trails
but may you come back – you – your hands
and water for my mouth
You more humble – who used to listen to the word
***
On this May morning the poem awakes early
among the flowers of the chestnut tree
very early – in the other season
the snow guides it into the mountains
where the wind trims our lips again
where our inspiration returns
and where I also see your shoulders beneath the frost
the crystals barely grazing you
forget that I am this man
that you are this woman
and watch at night Orion the Hunter
kneeling among the other stars
***
The lilacs – the hazels – the silver baskets
the maple’s winged seeds raining down covering the paths
the imperfect ivy
and fear – the heart laid bare
in the secrecy of the lower branches
Your sisters’ blood – the swan’s whiteness
evening – at prayer
the father’s arms – scratched by the blackberries
There is where the walls rose – and your house
By Pierre Voélin
Translated by John Taylor
Published courtesy of Trafika Europe. For more contemporary Swiss literature in English translation, please see Trafika Europe 11 – Swiss Delights.
Pierre Voélin was born in Courgenay (Canton Jura), Switzerland. His most recent books include the poetry collection L’été sans visage (2010) and the essay collection De l’air volé (2011). Six poems from his sequence Dans une prairie de fauche were translated by John Taylor and published in Modern and Contemporary Swiss Poetry: An Anthology (Dalkey Archive, 2012). In 2016 he won the Priz Louise-Labé.
John Taylor has translated books by Jacques Dupin, Philippe Jaccottet, Pierre-Albert Jourdan, José-Flore Tappy, and Louis Calaferte. His latest personal collection is If Night Is Falling, published by The Bitter Oleander Press in 2012. He is also the author of the three volume essay collection, Paths to Contemporary French Literature and Into the Heart of European Poetry.
Photo of Pierre Voélin © Wikipedia / From the Author’s Archive