Line the Wordcaves
By Paul Celan
Translated By Pierre Joris
Line the wordcaves
with panther skins,
widen them, hide-to and hide-fro,
sense-hither and sense-thither,
give them courtyards, chambers, drop doors
and wildnesses, parietal,
and listen for their second
and each time second and second
tone.
Copyright Credit: Paul Celan, "Line The Wordcaves" from BREATHTURN INTO TIMESTEAD: THE COLLECTED LATER POETRY A BILINGUAL EDITION by Paul Celan, translated by Pierre Joris. Translation copyright © 2014 by Pierre Joris. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC. http://us.macmillan.com/fsg
Source: Breathturn Into Timestead (Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2014)