Kaspar Is Dead
Jean Arp 1886 (Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp Straßburg, Alsace-Lorraine) – 1966 (Basel, Canton of Basel-Stadt)
(Translated by G P Skratz)
o god our kaspar is dead
& now there's no-one to steal away with the burning flag &
snap it every day in the dark cloud's braided hair.
no-one to crank the coffee-mill in the ancient cask.
no-one to conjure idyllic deer from the petrified grocery bag.
no-one to sniff ships umbrellas bee-keepers udders of wind
spindles of ozone no-one to filet the pyramids.
o god god god our good old kaspar is dead. lord lord
kaspar is dead.
heart-broken shark's teeth rattle with grief in the belfry
when we utter his given name. so i stick to his last,
sighing kaspar kaspar kaspar.
why have you deserted us. what form has your great soul
wandered into now. have you become a star or a chain of
water on a hot whirlwind or a plump breast of black light
or a transparent brick on the groaning drum of the rocks
of existence...
o now the crowns of our heads the soles of our feet wither
away & angels smolder on the funeral pyre.
the dark bowling alley thunders behind the sun & there's
no-one to wind the compasses & the wheels of wheelbarrows.
no-one to dine with the phosphorescent rat at the barefoot
table.
no-one to drive off the wind devil when he tries to seduce
the horses.
no-one to teach us monograms in the stars.
his bust will adorn all truly noble firesides but there is
no snuff & comfort for a dead head.
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 18, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 233 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | A BCX X C XA XB XXD XXXAA DD AA XX AA A AB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,314 |
Words | 252 |
Stanzas | 14 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Kaspar Is Dead" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/21290/kaspar-is-dead>.
Discuss the poem Kaspar Is Dead with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In