Two Translations of the Poet Tove Ditlevsen
Death 1
Death for the elderly is
unplanned and by chance
they know it’s there
but don’t dare ask how
to slip into it
modestly and unnoticed
like life was
beside trolley stops.
Death for the rich is
haughty
grand and slow
is welcome to spread out
across the private room
is welcome to make noise in
the hospital hall
may be completely personal
and purchased for the occasion.
Relatives come
from far away and with
composure watch this
long-awaited death
eat
will inherit
are treated
deferentially by all
wearing the face suitable
for the situation.
The elderly poor brood
throughout long nights
have no one to ask
the hearse
comes often
takes away one
for whom it finally
happened
quickly and out of
the nurses ’sight.
It gives them hope
a humble
and uncertain joy
they speak softly about him
in the dayroom
the family came too late
the visitors have
startled eyes
they send
the children home.
The elderly are obedient
they have always done
what was expected
their health insurance cards
are always ready
under their pillows
all they have left is to die
the right way.
Døden 1
De gamles død er
uforberedt og tilfældig
de ved at den er der
men tør ikke spørge hvordan
man ifører sig den
beskedent og ubemærket
som livet blev det
langs sporvognens stoppesteder.
De riges død er
hovmodig
stor og langsom
må gerne række ud
over enestuen
må gerne støje i
sanatoriets sale
må være helt personlig
og købt til dagen.
Slægtninge kommer
langvejsfra og betragter
med roligt blik denne
længe ventede død
spiser
skal arve
behandles
ærbødigt af alle
bærer det ansigt der passer
til lejligheden.
De fattige gamle grubler
i lange nætter
har ingen at spørge
ligvognen
kommer tit
og henter en
for hvem det til slut
lod sig gøre
hastigt og afsides
uden at plejerne så det.
Det gir dem et håb
en ydmyg
og usikker glæde
de taler sagte om ham
i dagligstuen
familien kom for sent
de besøgende har
forbløffede øjne
de sender
børnene hjem.
De gamle har lydige sind
de har altid gjort
hvad man forventede
sygekassebogen
ligger altid parat
under hovedpuden
de har kun tilbage at dø
på den rigtige måde.
A Person
A person has
two arms two
legs and two
convictions.
One is
right
The other
wrong.
You must be able to shift
Between them.
Few remember
What was said
Five years ago.
Cross-eyed from
cunning
you orient
yourself
and have
one opinion for
good times
another for
bad times
in our time a third
does not exist.
Mennesket
Mennesket har
to arme to
ben og to
overbevisninger.
Den ene er
rigtig
den anden
forkert.
Man må kunne skifte
mellem dem.
Kun få husker
hvad man sagde
for fem år siden.
Skeløjet af
snedighed
orienterer
man sig
og har
en mening til
medgang
en anden til
modgang
i hvor tid findes
en tredie ikke.
Tove Ditlevsen (1917-1976) was one of the most notable Danish literary personalities of the twentieth century. She enjoyed great popularity as a writer of both poetry and prose. She used her poor upbringing, her fragile psyche, and her long-standing problems with relationships and narcotics as sources of inspiration for her writing. The result was a long list of unique, honest, uncompromising works with which countless readers have identified. Ditlevsen wrote more than 30 books, including the three memoirs of The Copenhagen Trilogy, recently published in translation by Penguin Classics and FSG.
Danish translator Michael Favala Goldman (b. 1966) is also a poet, educator, and jazz clarinetist. Among his sixteen translated books are Dependency and The Trouble with Happiness by Tove Ditlevsen. Goldman’s five books of original poetry include Small Sovereign (2021), which won first prize at the Los Angeles Book Festival.. His work has appeared in numerous literary outlets including the New York Times and The Harvard Review. He lives in Northampton, MA, where he has been running poetry critique groups since 2018. www.michaelfavalagoldman.com
Cynthia Graae’s fiction, nonfiction, and translation have been published in the Westview News, Kinder Link, The Washington Review, Paragraph, The Bridge, Canadian Women Studies: les cahiers de la femme, the Hill Rag, Humans in the Wild (a Swallow Press anthology about gun violence), and online on the HuffPost, Barren Magazine, and Maine Public websites. She is currently working on a collection of stories. She lives in New York City and Hiram, Maine.