migrants exchange market
migrantentauschbörse
von Martina Sens
tausche vergangenheit
gegen hoffnung
auf zukunft
tausche verbundenheit
gegen zerrissenheit
und fremde
lasst zu
dass ich tausche
mein nichts
gegen illusion
ohne mich
zu zerreißen
migrants exchange market
by Martina Sens
Change past
for hope
of time to come
Change interconnectedness
for fragmentation
and the unfamiliar
Permit me
to exchange
my nothing
for illusion
yet
not go to pieces.
-Translated by Lane Jennings
外劳换汇所
作者：玛梯娜 森斯
用往昔
兑换
未来的希望
用邻里人情
兑换
破碎与陌生
让我用
一无所有
兑换
虚幻
千万别落得
遍体鳞伤
-Translated by Karl K. Zhang, George Mason University
About the Poet: Martina Sens
This award-winning poet, who studied at the University of Mannheim, has published six books of verse, and is a member of the Autorenkreis Linz, amnesty international, and Greenpeace.
About the Poem: migrants exchange market
Change is never one-way only. Martina Sens reminds us here that everyone who changes their place of residence is engaged in the act of bargaining – making an exchange. Her imaginative concept of the border crossing post as a marketplace for immigrants nicely illustrates the balance of hopes and fears involved in such a serious transaction. Wherever you came from, wherever you are going, you inevitably lose and gain. Only time and temperament will determine whether the bargain you made was a good one.
