Senses and Desires [I want the man who visits the depths...] Poem by Arjen Duinker

I want the man who visits the depths of the seas,

I want the man who digs his nails into my belly…
The combination of water and air is terrifyingly still,

The smell of death infusing the moment,
The boat takes flight, hear the universal call,

And I don't feel the need to lift up the sea,
To pull the sea closer, to pour the sea over myself.

I want to sing, blue and grey, cool with emotion,
I sing, yellow and green, cool with emotion.

Feeling sight, seeing smell, smelling feeling,
Forgetting the flying disarray of collectables,

I'd like the bird to make itself known to us,
I'd like the bird to gain the company

Of objects, of language, of obscure birds.
Lying across the sea, the same world.

Hey, I no longer see any boat! And the bird soars!
The men on the boat are asleep on their feet,

They're working hard, not resting for a second,
Their one curse even heavier than the next.

Do inhale the strain of the machines,
The men no longer aware of their will,

Ahhh, one man feels and knows his will,
A man who spits artlessly at the distance

And grabs hold of my legs, restraining, letting go,
A man…Words also emerge by the sea

Not as drowning persons, the daily leftovers,
But as symbols of a dark existence.

There's the boat once more, there, that vibration…
Responding to songs from the deep!

As if I'd continually teach the sea to sing!
Unthinkable, it's unthinkable.

Hahahaha, yesyesyesyes, I want to sing like the sea,
Tame the involuntary waters with my hands,

Produce voices with my breasts…
I see the boat more and more as a boat,

The bird as a bird without feathers,
Oh bird, come closer, and I'll keep quiet,

Show me how you decorate the sky
And tell me the names the sea has given you.

I feel the water pulling the waters,
The salty mist softly bites my neck,

I want to surrender to the darkness…
Let the words of darkness embrace my words!

I only hear sounds of immeasurable richness,
Of objects of value, elegant and fragile,

Wilfully radiating a lack of understanding,
I hear the grumblings on the boat and in my heart.

The sea's names are infinite by the sea
The sea's names, by the sea, are infinite,

I want to wait until the sea declines her names!
And then smell and look, then take in the night…

One ear the extension of my fingers,
The other in search of your mouth.

The bird has more to endure than the boat
But the radiance is too much for the men,

I want to stand by the sea and gain my senses.
Stand by the sea and know every word, is what I want.

Stand by the sea and not succumb, is what I want.
I want to stand by the sea and sing with my body.'

English translation by Jeltje Fanoy