Searching for the soul of the city
CityPoem 30 - Ghent
By Hans Karssenberg
28-01-2007 /views: 1182 in past 12 months.
A CityPoem from Ghent.
Photo: Firefalcon
Ghent CityPoem: Gelukstraat, Gent by Stefan Hertmans
Gelukstraat (‘Luck Street’), Ghent
It was in an old school,
and the windows were high, that
the shadow of a man bent over
up to the circle of light of old dust.
Lime trees, children in an unintelligible
new language, recognition of a view
at the window; and inside the plasterwork
draws its own circle of chalk in an old classroom.
The shade of a long lost life
someone can take in their arms,
but not the blowing lightland
in their heads.
O heavenly forgetting on normal
days, be believed. And at the small gate,
in the wind, stands another child –
he, who was once promised to his mother.
About the author
Stefan Hertmans (born in Gent in 1951) is teacher at the Royal Academy of Arts in Gent, and author. He published three novels, two story collections, five essay books and ten collections of poetry. His work is characterised by a mix of grotesque and poetic elements that cross the plot more than once unexpectedly.
Original text in Dutch
Gelukstraat, Gent
Het was in een oud schooltje,
en de ramen waren hoog, dat zich
de schaduw van een man tot in de
lichtkring van oud stof voorover boog.
Linden, kinderen in een onverstaanbaar
nieuwe taal, herkenning van een uitzicht
bij het raam; en binnen trekt het pleisterwerk
zijn eigen krijtkring in een oud lokaal.
De schim van lang verloren leven
kan iemand in de armen nemen,
maar niet het waaiend lichtland
in zijn hoofd.
O paradijselijk vergeten op gewone
dagen, zij geloofd. En bij het poortje,
in de wind, staat nog een ander kind -
dat, wat ooit zijn moeder was beloofd.
Stefan Hertmans
It was in an old school,
and the windows were high, that
the shadow of a man bent over
up to the circle of light of old dust.
Lime trees, children in an unintelligible
new language, recognition of a view
at the window; and inside the plasterwork
draws its own circle of chalk in an old classroom.
The shade of a long lost life
someone can take in their arms,
but not the blowing lightland
in their heads.
O heavenly forgetting on normal
days, be believed. And at the small gate,
in the wind, stands another child –
he, who was once promised to his mother.
About the author
Stefan Hertmans (born in Gent in 1951) is teacher at the Royal Academy of Arts in Gent, and author. He published three novels, two story collections, five essay books and ten collections of poetry. His work is characterised by a mix of grotesque and poetic elements that cross the plot more than once unexpectedly.
Original text in Dutch
Gelukstraat, Gent
Het was in een oud schooltje,
en de ramen waren hoog, dat zich
de schaduw van een man tot in de
lichtkring van oud stof voorover boog.
Linden, kinderen in een onverstaanbaar
nieuwe taal, herkenning van een uitzicht
bij het raam; en binnen trekt het pleisterwerk
zijn eigen krijtkring in een oud lokaal.
De schim van lang verloren leven
kan iemand in de armen nemen,
maar niet het waaiend lichtland
in zijn hoofd.
O paradijselijk vergeten op gewone
dagen, zij geloofd. En bij het poortje,
in de wind, staat nog een ander kind -
dat, wat ooit zijn moeder was beloofd.
Stefan Hertmans
Inspiring Cities Museum of CityPoems
Inspiring Cities has collected many citypoems over the years, as well as organized salons with citypoets and cities doing special projects. We have two criteria for what a citypoem is: the intention must be poetic, and it must be in the public realm of cities. Shapes, form and locations can and do differ.
The Museum of CityPoems has citypoems from cities all over the world. From Alhambra to Zonnebeke, from Taipei to Lima.
Got one yourself? Mail us your pictures (free of rights) and description, and we will publish.
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