No Hold
No Hold. Poems. Borgen 1982. Cover: John Olsen. The poem is translated by Roger Greenwald
WHAT COMES
Exchanging birds for clouds
and clouds for stars
exchanging one sky
for another
not necessarily more beautiful sky
day for night
what´s at the edge
moves into the light
and is regarded
everything that comes belongs to me
for one moment
birds and clouds and stars
everything that comes
is just what I´m looking for
what existed once
won´t come again
that´s why I catch the sky behind the sky
and the light my eyes have caught
makes my blood so alive
all else is forgotten.
No Hold 1982.
Pia Tafdrup
is a poet, writer and a member of The Danish Academy.
Honours include:
The Swedish Academy’s Nordic Prize 2006
The Soeren Gyldendal Award, 2005
The Nordic Council’s Literature Prize, 1999