Comments received on poems by Olaf Gatermann



Eine Idylle
Parisab said:

Thank you for the English translation, as the poet should translate their own Poem_you draw a heart warming image which could bring emotions from the past, anywhere

May 10th, 2023 00:08

Eine Idylle
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation

An idyll

The tenement house is on the outskirts
and the grandparents
have lived there for many years.
People know each other
and on Fridays the stairs are cleaned.
The grocery is around the corner.
And it gets best at night.
The little grandson
lies in the old marriage bed
with the seaweed mattresses.
Next door the TV is on
or is it the radio?
Sometimes he hears
a rare car drive by.
And now and then
the distant barking of dogs
from a farm in the darkness.

May 9th, 2023 14:43

Die Hanteln sind traurig
2781 said:

\"The earth mourns and fades away, the world languisheth and fades away, the haughty people of the earth languish.

April 9th, 2023 23:04

Haiku # 101
Lorna said:

So glad you translated it for us......

April 5th, 2023 03:57

Wetterbericht
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation:

Weather report

In the West

slight depression, later

passage of marauding hours,

cloudy and in places outrageous.

At night

Alcoholism and deliveries.

The further outlook:

emerging chills,

shoplifting

and generally hopeless.

March 30th, 2023 16:27

Open end oder: auch dies ist Poesie
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation

Open end or: this also is poetry

much too early

for all of us inconceivable

after a long and serious illness

by a tragic accident

with pride and dignity

fought and yet lost

wide awake until the last breath

suddenly torn from life

peacefully fallen asleep

with illness patiently borne

in the circle of his loved ones

on his beloved North Sea island

at the blessed age of a hundred



March 27th, 2023 15:34

Haiku # 100
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation
A yellowed letter
from Bill in Verdun to Lou.
She loved him dearly.

March 26th, 2023 17:10

Demenz
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation

There she is again.

There she is standing again

in the stairwell by the window.

Then she is speaking again

the role of the woman

and the role of the child.

Then the child contradicts her again.

Then she talks to the child.

Then she goes back

into the flat again.

The door bangs.

There she is again.

She is restless.

Then she goes into the street

with her cloth bag.

March 24th, 2023 15:22

Gedicht im Partizip
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation:

met, spoken to, loved, conceived,

born, washed, vaccinated, suckled,

talked, walked, played, argued,

coughed, crafted, learned, ridden,

gave, swam, won, fiddled,

baked, celebrated, loved, shown,

married, built, travelled, lied,

shamed, begged, mourned, moved,

worked, worked, worked, read,

gardened, aged, suffered, been.

March 24th, 2023 15:16

Fische
Olaf Gatermann said:

Translation:

Today

there were only fish

on the S-train,

an old carp

with moss on its scales,

a tropical tilapia,

a strong salmon

with alert eyes,

an exhausted plaice,

a moray eel

and a mighty tuna.

March 24th, 2023 15:09

Profanes Haiku
Olaf Gatermann said:

Profane Haiku

Heart echo at the doctor\'s.
My heart beats and beats and beats.
Gratis and for free.


Sorry that the translation doesn\'t render the Haiku structure...

March 18th, 2023 09:47

Der wahre Schrecken
Olaf Gatermann said:

The real terror

1. To leave
and when you come back
everything has changed.
2. To leave
and when you come back
nothing has changed.

March 17th, 2023 01:52

Märchen
Olaf Gatermann said:

Sorry that the rhyme got lost:

Fairy Tale

Farmer, farmer
let me in,
I can\'t stay outdoors any more.
King, it\'s wet and cold,
and I am lonely, dumb and old.
Frau Holle, open the door for me!
I\'ll give you a mouse in return.
Grey ass, grey ass, listen to me,
I\'m asking what I can ask.
The stone lies deep in the wide sea,
I don\'t know anything anymore
and I\'m crying.


March 13th, 2023 04:32

Als der Schnee geschmolzen war
Norman Flagtea said:

When the snow had melted

When the snow had melted
a dead bird lay in front of my door.
Had he only spoken up,
the stupid animal,
I would have let him in.

February 26th, 2023 17:05

Die Wasserschildkröten
Olaf Gatermann said:

The waterturtles

The waterturtles
take the sun
on a black tree stump
in the lake
of the cemetery.
The dead appreciate that.
In the dusk
they come by for a little while
and sit
on the shore
until the turtles
also disappear.

February 25th, 2023 16:59

Brief an einen jungen Dichter
Norman Flagtea said:

Letter to a young poet

And please consider,
young friend,
that it is a lot easier
to be a tiger
than an armadillo.

February 24th, 2023 06:22

Entdeckung
Olaf Gatermann said:

Realisation

I look like a man
who looks like me.
He is married to my wife.
He shops
where I shop.
But he takes more milk.

February 24th, 2023 05:52

Hände aus Blech
Olaf Gatermann said:

Hands of tin

He was considered autistic
because he recognised people
by their hands.
Some had
hands of tin,
others
hands of teak wood
and still others
had hands of water.

February 21st, 2023 12:14

Oh!
Olaf Gatermann said:

Four young refugees
(male)
are learning German
at computers
in the public library
and are talking
about the German words
for homicide and genocide


February 17th, 2023 15:48

Solange die Erde steht
Jeannie said:

Wish I could translate your words, so that I may read them.

February 11th, 2023 17:28

Kinderspiel
Doggerel Dave said:

Danke.

February 7th, 2023 20:05

Kinderspiel
Doggerel Dave said:

Google attempted to translate that fro Spanish to English... so what are you up to...?
All roads lead toi English any way... so get with th e strength, matey!🙂

February 7th, 2023 04:38

La condition humaine
crypticbard said:

There is an adult that is but a child.
Genuinely loved your turn of phrase. Hunger is so primal and so basic and the societal collective, if blind to this, is sorely malignant.

January 31st, 2023 20:53

La condition humaine
Ok Waleed said:

Great poem I enjoyed this

January 31st, 2023 10:57