Travel Light
By all means take my suitcase, which now again
is too heavy to carry – packed with
nightdress, piles of underwear and socks,
dresses, skirts, belts,
blouses with short and long sleeves,
sweaters, jerseys, long pants,
thermal or swimwear, shoes
for walking, running, shoes
for dresses, trousers, boots, sandals,
toiletries for almost any
conceivable situation,
umbrella, sun hat, sunscreen
(high factor), lip balm
(also high factor), reading
for changing moods,
matches, candles, address list,
alarm clock (though the phone has an alarm),
water heater, favourite tea, travel mug,
hairbrush, hair dryer, hair spray,
jacket, hat, gloves, scarves,
all carefully stacked
like the words here, in order to give
at least an illusion of order.
And for special expeditions:
drops, sterile syringes,
chlorhexidine, plaster, paraghurt,
penicillin, sulfa tablets,
imodium, milk of magnesia,
mosquito balsam, mosquito spray, iodine…
Not to mention the hand luggage
with the most indispensable items:
Passport, tickets, money, travel insurance,
reading glasses, cell phone, computer,
phrasebook, map, compass, diary,
notebooks, paper, pen, mechanical pencils,
camera, adapter, possible special medications,
toothbrush, makeup and extra clothes
for if the suitcase is delayed or lost.
I have packed for tomorrow –
but yesterday travels back with me in a mess
of dusty shoes, broken shoelaces, the clothes
with dirt and stains,
strange, indefinable odours, immediately
registered by the cat,
and gifts that must be unwrapped carefully.
Travel Light
Tag gerne min kuffert, der nu igen
er for tung at bære – pakket med
natkjole, bunker af undertøj og strømper,
kjoler, nederdele, bælter,
bluser med korte og lange ærmer,
sweaters, trøjer, lange bukser,
termotøj eller badetøj, sko
til at vandre i, løbe i, sko
til kjoler, til bukser, støvler, sandaler,
toiletsager til næsten enhver
tænkelig situation,
paraply, solhat, solcreme
(med høj faktor), læbepomade
(ligeledes med høj faktor), rejselekture
til skiftende sindsstemninger,
tændstikker, stearinlys, adresseliste,
vækkeur (skønt mobilen har alarm),
dypkoger, yndlings-te, rejsekrus,
hårbørste, hårtørrer, hårspray,
jakke, hue, handsker, tørklæder,
alt sammen omhyggeligt stablet
som ordene her, for i det mindste
at give en illusion om orden.
Og til særlige ekspeditioner:
drop, sterile injektionssprøjter,
klorhexidin, plaster, paragurt,
penicillin, sulfatabletter,
imodium, magnesia,
myggebalsam, myggespray, jod …
For slet ikke at tale om håndbagagen
med det mest uundværlige:
Pas, billetter, penge, rejseforsikring,
læsebriller, mobiltelefon, computer,
parlør, kort, kompas, dagbog,
notesbøger, papir, pen, stiftblyanter,
kamera, adapter, eventuel særlig medicin,
tandbørste, makeup og ekstra tøj,
hvis kufferten forsinkes eller forsvinder.
Jeg har pakket til i morgen –
men i går rejser med tilbage i ét rod,
støvede sko, knækket snørebånd, tøjet
med snavs og pletter,
fremmede, udefinerbare lugte, straks
registreret af katten,
og gaver, der skal pakkes varsomt ud.
Translator: David McDuff is a British literary translator and editor. His translations include works of nineteenth-century Russian fiction in Penguin Classics (Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Leskov) as well as nineteenth- and twentieth-century Scandinavian poetry and prose.
