Gustaf Munch-Petersen: The Lowest Country
elisabet’s soul
had legs like the darkest notes
in a violincel
with dancing feet –
but her father
with the blonde beard,
died,
and elisabet always cried –
her tears were large
and transparent like globes
of champagne –
and these tears lured
the men with the three-quarter souls –
and elisabet
gave each of the men
a large tear,
so that they could lay it
around their small hearts
and become great men,
like her father – |
but when she could not
love them,
they eventually went away,
(and beautiful, because they had
a champagne-tear around the soul)
and elisabet cried
and couldn’t dance,
when she didn’t love –
at last came
the handsomest of all men,
(lured by the tears),
the most wondrous poet
without soul –
and he loved elisabet
with his body,
which was wiser and lovelier than any soul –
but a night,
where elisabet for the first time
had danced,
she remembered,
that her father with the blonde beard
had had a great soul –
and then elisabet could no more
love the wonderful poet –
and he went –,
wild with sorrow
and took elisabet’s soul with him
when he went –,
elisabet’s soul,
which had legs like the dark notes
in a violincel
with dancing feet –
and the wonderful poet
were also loved afterwards –,
(because he was so wondrous),
but all of his life
elisabet’s soul lay in his chest
and cried its big tears –
and elisabet died,
because she no longer could dance
and love without a soul –