Skip to content

Scottish Poetry Library

Register/Sign in
Shopping Bag Shopping Bag
Bringing people and poems together
  • Home
  • Poetry
    • Poets
    • Poems
    • Makar – National Poet
      • Our Waking Breath: A Poem-letter from Scotland to Ukraine
      • A Woman’s A Woman
      • The story of the Makar – National Poet of Scotland
    • Best Scottish Poems
    • Spiorad an Àite
      Spirit of Place
    • The Trysting Thorns
    • Poetry Ambassadors
      Tosgairean na Bàrdachd
      • Poetry Commissions: Walter Scott 250
        Coimiseanan Bàrdachd: Walter Scott 250
      • Poetry Ambassadors 2021
    • Poetry Ambassadors 2020
    • Posters
    • Podcasts
  • Library
    • Become a borrower
    • Catalogue
    • Collections
    • Ask a librarian
    • Copyright enquiries
  • Learning
    • SQA set texts
    • Learning resources
    • Designing sensory poetry activities
    • Children’s poems in Scots
    • National Poetry Day archive
    • New to poetry?
    • Advice for poets
  • Events
    • What’s On
    • Meeting rooms and venue hire
    • Exhibitions
  • Shop
    • Poetry Highlights
    • Entropie Books
    • Stichill Marigold Press
    • Poems for Doctors, Nurses & Teachers
    • Scottish Poetry
    • Poetry Pamphlet Cards
    • Help
  • About us
    • Our story
    • Our people
    • Jobs
    • Company Papers & Policies
    • Our projects
    • Our building
    • FAQs
    • Find us
  • Support us
    • Become a Friend
    • Donate
  • Blog
Shopping BagShopping Bag
Ask a librarian
  • Home
  • >
  • Poetry
  • >
  • Jakub Ekier
  • >
  • bocznica
Donate Donate icon Ask a Librarian Ask a Librarian icon

bocznica

Jakub Ekier

tu stanął pociąg
z betonu
podłużne bloki drugiej klasy
wagony bezosobowe w nich ludzie

tam dalej miasto robi szum


Jakub Ekier

from podczas ciebie (Kraków: Wydawnictwo a5, 1999)

Reproduced by permission of the author and translators.

Tags:

identity Polish Slovenian trains Translations Welsh

Translations of this Poem

Sidetrack

Translator: Esther Kinsky


Here, standing still, the train
of concrete
longish blocks of second class
coaches impersonal, filled with people

The city further off creates a stir

vedlejší kolej

Translator: Petr Borkovec


tady zastavil vlak
z betonu
dlouhé bloky druhé třídy
neosobní vagony uvnitř lidé

tam v dálce povykuje město

Stranski tir

Translator: Milan Jesih


tu se je ustavil vlak
iz betona
podolžni bloki drugega razreda
vagoni brezosebni v njih ljudje

tam daleč mesto zganja hrum

lein gefn

Translator: Aled Llion Jones


fan hyn safodd trên
o goncrid
y maith flociau ail-ddosbarth
cerbydau annynol ac ynddynt ddynion

draw mae’r ddinas yn cadw sw^n

About this poem

‘Voyages & Versions / Tursan is Tionndaidhean’ was the title of the translation workshop run by the Scottish Poetry Library and Literature Across Frontiers 12-18 May 2003. The group consisted of Petr Borkovec (Czech Republic), Mererid Puw Davies (Wales), Jakub Ekier (Poland), Matthew Fitt (Scotland), Rody Gorman (Scotland), Milan Jesih (Slovenia),  Doris Kareva (Estonia), Esther Kinsky (England) and Aled Llion (Wales). The group spent days at Moniack Mhor writing centre in the Highlands, returned to the Library in Edinburgh and went up to Dundee Contemporary Arts, and gave multi-lingual readings, producing what was, in effect, an hour’s sound-poem. Several of the poets mentioned their sense of renewed faith in poetry – how refreshed they felt by the chance to look closely at their own and others’ work in company with people whose aesthetics might be quite different but whose skills and passion were recognisably similar.

Share this
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Learn more

Jakub Ekierb.1961

Jakub Ekier was born in Warsaw, where he still lives. He is a poet, translator, essayist, and editor. He graduated in German Studies from Warsaw University. His collection Caly Czas ('For the whole time') was published in 1992, and...
More about Jakub Ekier

Join

Become a Borrower or support our work by becoming a Friend of SPL.
Join us

Online Shop

Browse our range of poetry books, cards and gifts in our online shop.
Shop now
  • Newsletter signup
  • Accessibility
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Scottish Poetry Library
5 Crichton's Close, Canongate
Edinburgh EH8 8DT
Tel: +44 (0)131 557 2876
© Scottish Poetry Library 2022.
The Scottish Poetry Library is a registered charity (No. SCO23311).
City of Edinburgh logo Green Arts Initiative logo Creative Scotland logo
Scottish Poetry Library