Asko Künnap

Winter 2022 Edition / Poetry

Two Poems

Asko Künnap

ÖÖ TÕTTAB ÜTLEMA

Öö tõttab ütlema:
Maanteid keritakse kokku
ja tuul puhub kääbastes
põrmust puhtaks te luid.

Öö tõttab ütlema:
Muld on kergeks jäänud
ja miski ei kaalu enam,
ei leping, ei mahlane krunt.

Öö tõttab ütlema:
Hoidke, millest hoida on
keset seda kaalutust —
kasvõi teineteise käest.

Öö tõttab ütlema:
Ostke veel, mida oskate,
sest siis, kui saabun mina,
on kingiks ja tasuta kõik.

+++

THE NIGHT IS QUICK TO SAY

The night is quick to say:
The roads are all rolled up
and the wind in the barrows
whips the dust off your bones.

The night is quick to say:
The soil has grown light
nothing now carries weight
no contract, no lush land.

The night is quick to say:
Hold onto what you can
amid this weightlessness
even if only another hand.

The night is quick to say:
Keep buying what you can
for when I get there
all will be given out free.



BAKTERID LOOVAD KULTUURE

Bakterid loovad kultuure,
aga kultuuri juurde ei teki.

Kuulatad, ei hinga isegi.
Aga bakterid, kurjad ja kiivad,
vaikivad, traageldavad taristut,
paljunevad, toodavad mürki,
viipavad vastu, kui vaatan
neid läbi oma mikroskoobi
murelikult häguse läätse,
poliitiliselt ebakorrektse
konnapilgu ja -perspektiivi.

Bakterid, inetud ja kasimata,
päevalehest pläru suus,
aga võib-olla hoopis perses,
pagan sa vahet teed,
loovad oma kuratlikke kultuure,
aga kultuuri juurde ei teki.

+++

BACTERIA ARE MAKING CULTURES

Bacteria are making cultures,
but no culture is being made.

You listen with bated breath.
But bacteria, brutish and envious,
silent, stitching up structures,
reproduce, producing poison,
wave back as I observe them
through my microscope’s
fretfully foggy lens,
a politically incorrect
frog-face and frame.

Bacteria, foul and filthy,
tabloid-rolled joints in their mouths,
or maybe it’s up their asses –
how the hell can you tell?
they’re making diabolical cultures,
but no culture is being made.

Asko Künnap (b 1971) is an Estonian designer, writer, and artist. He gained a number of awards for his book illustration and design, marketing projects, and poetry, Künnap has been translated and published in 12 languages. Currently, he runs a micro-publishing house and a design studio, and busies himself with painting, drawing comics and designing visual branding.

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