The poetry book Hliðargötur, translated to English by Ástráður Eysteinsson and Julian Meldon D'Arcy. The translations and the Icelandic originals are printed side by side. Ástráður and Julian also wrote an introduction, From One Place to Another.
From Hliðargötur – Sideroads:
FINE TUNED
The calm lake blue blue sky
the quietness as quiet as mountains
the world fully-created to the eye
this very moment
and no need to rearrange
the smallest blade of grass
dare not
not to mention inching the sun
westwards
change a day a week a month no it
would just spoil things make everything grey
and least of all would I be improved
if time moved on
(31)
THE KID
The boy swings a stick, making the grass sing
no –
in his language a sword not a stick
and man, he's alone against all that grass
the odds against him ...
but he's not at all afraid
and thinks he will win
that's what I thought too at his age:
campaigning along the fjord always further and further
coming home later and later
now the kid has won
hurray for him
(89)
