They look at us, white and red,
as if from old paintings: their tepid
flesh and dun hair in braids
burdening their narrow shoulders. Like glass
...
Draw me, we will run after thee
to Spitsbergen
there too
our bed blossoms
...
Every morning the bus to school
drives past the Mainz brothel:
the bus stop is right in front of the main gate
hic habitat felicitas
...
Sounds of Silence
it says under the propellers
a slip of the tongue
not silver-tongued and
...
Dagmar Leupold was born on October 23, 1955 in Niederlahnstein. She studied Germanistics, Philosophy, Theatre Studies, and Classical Philology in Marburg, Tübingen, and New York. From 1980, she worked as a German teacher at private schools in Florence for five years. Subsequently, she accepted a five year fellowship from the City University of New York and worked as a lecturer at Queens College. Her first book of poetry was published in 1988 under the title Wie Treibholz. Many years later her debut novel, Edmond: Geschichte einer Sehnsucht, came out. Multiple other publications followed in various genres: novels, collections of poetry, short prose, essays, and translations from Italian (Cesare Pavese).)
New England's Daughters Portsmouth, New Hampshire, summer
They look at us, white and red,
as if from old paintings: their tepid
flesh and dun hair in braids
burdening their narrow shoulders. Like glass
their bright gaze on faraway waters,
unclouded by long history.
Their round whiteT arms are paler,
their hips calmer, heavier. We see
a grace in their languidness
like that of sleep, or of quiet lies
with which we wordlessly comply:
as if this were blessedness.
Translated by Donna Stonecipher