Language: Icelandic
Poet: Brynja Hjálmsdóttir
Translator: Rachel Britton
Region: Iceland
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she blinks quick quick quickly
Two poems by Brynja Hjálmsdóttir, translated from Icelandic by Rachel Britton
*
She blinks quick quick quickly to get rid of all the dogs
Says: there’s no dog here
no black dog lounging on any couch
You are not a black dog
No black dog lounges on you
You’re not being crushed all day beneath a black dog
even when the sun’s out and you’re on holiday
When the sun shines you cast a shadow
that isn’t shaped like a black dog
No fragrance emanates from its black fur
Repeats: there’s no dog here
All black dogs have been exterminated
The vines in your garden
don’t wind themselves around the sculpture of a black dog
each and every one has been disposed of
At night no black dogs are to be found
cloaked
against a black house
*
Hún deplar augunum hratt hratt hratt til að losna við alla hundana
Segir: Hér er enginn hundur
Enginn svartur hundur sem liggur á engum sofa
Þú ert ekki svartur hundur
Það liggur ekki á þér neinn svartur hundur
Þú ert ekki að kremjast undan svörtum hundi allan daginn
líka þegar það er sól og þú ert í fríi úr vinnunni
Þegar sólin skín á þig varparðu skugga
sem er ekki í laginu eins og svartur hundur
Enga angan leggur frá svörtum feldinum
Endurtekur: hér er enginn hundur
Öllum svörtum hundum hefur verið útrýmt
Við það tók fólkið gleði sína á ný
Klifurjurtin í garðinum þínum
fléttar sig ekki utan um líkneski af svörtum hundi
Þau hafa verið urðuð öll með tölu
Þegar það er nótt er enga svarta hunda að sjá
í felum
upp við svarta húsveggi
*
Onehundredandeightythousandfourhundredandone men live in Iceland
and she’s in love with all of them
Tells each one:
Ástin mín
if you bring a pillow you may sleep on me
or else you could hurt yourself on my heart of stone
I just want to be nice
I regret when my paw catches
and scratches you
The truth is I have soft hands
designed to stroke soft bodies
and I will never claw
your eyes from their sockets
because that’s where they belong
just like my hands belong
around you
You’re the skeleton that holds up this slimy mincemeat
You’re the casing that shapes me into succulent sausage
without you I would be nothing
but a sack of meat and bone
*
Á Íslandi býr hundraðogáttatíuþúsundfjögurhundruðogeinn karl
og hún er ástfangin af þeim öllum
Segir við hvern og einn:
Ástin mín
ef þú nærð þér í mjúkan púða máttu sofa á mér
annars gætirðu meitt þig á harðbrjóstinu mínu
ég vil bara vera góð
ég harma þegar hrammur minn hremmir þig
og mer
Sannleikurinn er sá að ég er með mjúkar hendur
hannaðar til að strjúka mjúka kroppa
og aldrei skyldi ég kroppa
augun úr tóftum þínum
því þar eiga þau heima
rétt eins og hendur mínar eiga heima
utan um þig
Þú ert beinagrindin sem heldur uppi þessu slímuga farsi
Þú ert görnin sem mótar mig í lystuga pylsu
án þín væri ég ekkert
nema kjöt og bein í poka
Brynja Hjálmsdóttir is from Reykjavík, Iceland, and is the author of two books of poetry and a novel. Her first book, Okfruman, was awarded Poetry Book of the Year by the Icelandic Booksellers’ Choice Awards and was nominated for the Icelandic Women’s Literary Award. Her second book, Kona lítur við was nominated for the Maístjarnan Poetry Award and was published in English as A Woman Looks Over Her Shoulder (Circumference Books) in 2024. Hjálmsdóttir has received various awards, including the 2022 Ljóðstafur Jóns úr Vör and the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Encouragement Award. Her work has been translated into six languages.
Rachel Britton is a writer and translator from New York, based in Iceland. She holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the State University of New York at Geneseo and an MA in Translation Studies from the University of Iceland. She has received support from the Fulbright Commission, the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, and the Icelandic Literature Center.
