Dream of Gold

by Henrik Nordbrandt

 

translated from the Danish by Thom Satterlee

Instead of ink they gave me gold
and I had to pay for it
by necessity with my life
so I have in fact
already said too much.

Because of these words
I am sitting in a little cottage in the woods.
And as you can see from the way
the gold shines
it is autumn, moon and racing clouds.

I wanted so much to share
these things with you
and give you my entire soul.
Now you get the reflection
and my head.

 

(AGNI 61)

Henrik Nordbrandt has published over twenty volumes of poetry and is considered one of the leading contemporary Danish poets. In 2000 he received the Nordic Prize, one of many honors awarded to his work. Nordbrandt currently lives in Turkey. (4/2005)

Thom Satterlee has translated the Danish poet Henrik Nordbrandt for the past ten years. Individual translations have appeared in journals such as Seneca Review, Prairie Schooner, The Literary Review, and elsewhere. In 2003 Green Integer published his collection of translations, The Hangman’s Lament: Poems of Henrik Nordbrandt. (4/2005)