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Heaney, Seamus: Cow in Calf

Portre of Heaney, Seamus

Cow in Calf (English)

It seems she has swallowed a barrel

From forelegs to haunches

her belly is slung like a hammock.

 

Slapping her out of the byre is like slapping

a great bag of seed.  My hand tingled as if

strapped, but I had to hit her again and again

and heard the blows plump like a depth charge              

underwater bomb

far in her gut.

 

The udder grows.  Windbags

of bagpipes are crammed there

to drone in her lowing.

Her cud and her milk, her heats and her calves

that’s chewed

Keep coming and going.



Uploaded byP. T.
Source of the quotationhttp://www.stirling.gov.uk/cfenglish

Vemhes tehén (Hungarian)

Mintha hordót nyelt volna,

Mellső lábától a tomporáig

lóg a hasa, mint a függőágy.

 

Mire kihajtom: akár egy zsák

zabot püfölnék. A kezem, mintha

szíjjal húznának rá, bizsereg,

de csak rá kell csapnom: hallom

a belek mélyén az ütések

vízibomba-pufogását.

 

Dagad a tőgye. Dudák

szélzsákja szorult belé,

hogy búgásuk elbőgje.

Takarmánya, teje, folyatása, borja

jön-megy örökre.



Uploaded byP. T.
Source of the quotationhttp://irc.sunchat.hu/vers/

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