by Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson

Poetry
Skáldamál 

I want to talk to you in poetry,
in unbroken silence. 

It’s not as difficult as it sounds: 

Just like
dragging a crystal glass
by a strand of wool
over
a boulder beach.

Translated by Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson.

by Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson

who cannot find themselves

in their present
(or: In the future #3)

        Til hughreystingar 

þeim sem finna sig ekki 

í samtíma sínum
(eða: Í framtíðinni #3)

In the future
when time-travel
is routine:

People will still go to the pub
but slip back in time to have a smoke. 

Most people will still have a job
and a permanent residence
in the present
but travel in time in spare moments.

In the future
— some nights —
nobody will be there.

Translated by Ragnar Helgi Ólafsson.

by Ingunn Lára

outside, deep snow
chokes back my mother’s tears

the snow
muffles the slam
of the door

crimson blushed sky

no sign of a letter
written just past midnight

the middle child
hides under a duvet

the youngest can speak clearly
snow softens his stammer

somewhere buried
and forgotten:
the oldest
with a child under one arm
another on the way

sheet
whites out withered words

Translated by Ingunn Lára.

by Ingunn Lára

Francesca keeps Maria company
She helps her fold
all the clothes
he left behind
And the newspaper clippings of travels of old
to Stockholm and Luxemburg

Francesca and Maria swim in the river
She will lean to Maria
and Maria will accept
when it is night
and it is dark

Written in English.