bocznica
tu stanął pociąg
z betonu
podłużne bloki drugiej klasy
wagony bezosobowe w nich ludzie
tam dalej miasto robi szum
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.
