Slowing
Everything is slower when it’s cold:
charging, going mouldy,
getting out of bed,
falling in love.
A dog that lives seven years in one
has 168 hours in a day,
licks as slowly as it can
at a frozen lamppost.
The last fruit fly of the year
is allergic to mandarins,
dies as slowly as it can
in the husk of a beechnut.
I light a candle,
hold it under a mirror ball,
dance as slowly as I can,
every beat a rest.
Dutch poem: Mees van Rijswijk
Mees van Rijswijk (born 1999) is a stage poet, theatre maker, and soft activist from Leeuwarden. He believes in the art of simplicity and therefore chooses his words carefully: anything with more than five syllables is out of the question. He has won several awards for his spoken word work, he regularly speaks at venues and events throughout the country, and ‘en route’ enjoys solving sudoku puzzles.
Frisian translation: Martsje de Jong
Martsje de Jong is a translator, editor, writer, storyteller, poet, and columnist. She translates from Dutch, English, German, Swedish, and Danish. Her work includes Frisian translations of children’s books like The Big Friendly Giant and Pippi Longstocking, as well as several novels, short stories, and poems for adults. Martsje was a columnist for publications including the Leeuwarder Courant newspaper and literary magazine Ensafh. She has written for magazines and newspapers and has written several non-fiction books. As a poet, she won the Fryske Poëzy Slam in 2024.
English translation: David Colmer
David Colmer (Adelaide, 1960) translates novels, poetry, and children’s literature and is the English translator of Dutch authors including Adriaan van Dis, Gerbrand Bakker, Dimitri Verhulst, and Willem Frederik Hermans. Colmer has translated poetry by Hugo Claus, Radna Fabias, Menno Wigman, and Ramsey Nasr. Colmer has edited children’s books by Annie M.G. Schmidt and Paul van Loon, among others.
Illustrator: Julia van der Bos
Julia van der Bos is a freelance illustrator with experience in editorial, product, and marketing illustrations. Her work has a warm and friendly style that helps organisations convey their message. Originally from Russia, she has lived in Europe since 2017 and settled in Friesland in 2021. Julia also organises the Sunday Sketch Brunch and shares her work on Instagram with her active and growing community.