Onvertaalbaar

- Free translation below -

This very moment
is onvertaalbaar mooi

Dampkringels nevelen op uit mijn koffie –
kahve – qahwa, zwartgebrande arabica,
in een vroege sun, sinne, Sonne, zon
Door groen gras kijk ik eeuwen terug
durch grien grass reik ik over grenzen
thuro gron gers verstrijkt de tijd
steeds troebeler mijn blik
þuruh groni grasa

In de verte wordt het verde

Elke vertakking heeft andere bloemen
gekregen, sommige takken groeien
weer naar elkaar toe

Of neem een random woord
als astigmatism

Zuivere talen bestaan
überhaupt niet, nooit
tenzij je zuiver naar taal
kijkt

Adopteer elke schoonheid
~~stop als het cheap gaat klinken~~

--------------------------------------

Attempt to a free translation into English:

Untranslatable

This very moment
is untranslatably beautiful¹

Steamspirals² mist up³ from my coffee –
kahve – qahwa, black-roasted arabica,
in an early sun, sinne, Sonne, zon
I look back centuries through green grass
durch grien gras I reach beyond borders
thuro gron gers time passes
more and more cloudy my eye
þuruh groni grasa

In the distance it becomes verde⁴

Each branch has got different flowers
some branches are growing
back together

Or take a random word
like astigmatisme

Pure languages do not exist⁵
at all⁶, never
unless you look at language
purely⁷

Adopt everything beautiful
~~stop if it starts sounding cheap~~⁸

¹The expression 'this very moment' litterally cannot be translated into Dutch, because of the specific meaning of 'very' in this expression.
²In Dutch I use a neology for word play: 'dampkringels' consists of 'damp' (steam, vapour) and 'kringelen' (to spiral), and the sound of it reminds of 'dampkring' (atmosphere).
³Dutch 'nevelen op' is a conjugation of 'opnevelen', a non-existing verb. The noun 'nevel' means 'mist' or 'haze'.
⁴The word play between 'in de verte' (Dutch for 'in the distance') and 'verde' (Italian for 'green') is lost when translating it into English.
⁵Due to differences in word order between Dutch and English, something is lost in this translation, because in Dutch this line says 'Pure languages exist', which is then denied in the next line.
⁶The Dutch word 'überhaupt' (at all) is in fact a loanword from German.
⁷Differences in word order can also have positive consequences: I like the emphasis on 'purely' in English.
⁸Using the word 'cheap' in Dutch (instead of the Dutch 'goedkoop') actually sounds cheap (to me).

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