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Mustafa Stitou: Palpitations

By Mustafa Stitou, translated by Paul Vincent
18 March 2019 1 min. reading time Friday Verses

This week’s Friday Verses are written by Mustafa Stitou (b. 1974, Tétouan). We translated his poem Hartkloppingen (Palpitations) from the volume Mijn gedichten (Vassallucci, 1998).

Palpitations

You
blond
limpid and succinct
little face

lea
leafing
adolescing

through a GQ-style magazine

smiled at me
five or
so times

For all the swarms of Speech
that beset me
– my polar expedition dreams –
Even the One with
the lightning sense
of humour was
rendered speechless!

Must I drift balding from the world
without a few party pounds
towards the evening of my life?

You got out in Almere, Music District

But not for good I saw you
again that spring
in the audience
at a talk show

Train nymph
will you write my salvation?
I’m a good cook.

(Dutch version below the photo)

Schermafbeelding-2019-03-24-om-22.17.07 Mustafa Stitou
© Tessa Posthuma de Boer

Hartkloppingen

Jij
blond
doorzichtig en beknopt
gezichtje

bla
bladerde
puberend

door de Actueel

lachte naar me
een keer
of vijf

Bij alle zwermen Stem
die mij belagen
– mijn pooltochtendromerij –
Zelfs Het met
vliegensvlug gevoel
voor humor werd
onmondig!

Kalend van de wereld drijven
zonder feestkilo’s
mijn levensavond tegemoet?

In Almere Muziekwijk stapte je uit

Maar niet voorgoed zag ik je
in het voorjaar weer
onder het publiek
van een talkshow

Treinnimf
schrijf je mijn hachje?
Ik kan goed koken

Mustafa Stitou Tessa-Posthuma-de-Boer

Mustafa Stitou

poet

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