CipherJournal / translation / Jan Theuninck

http://www.cipherjournal.com/html/theuninck.html

	Poessays by Jan Theuninck / translations by the author

Stalag Zehn B  le feldwebel est devenu général le docteur du camp, professeur et nous les juifs—c’est banal— on est resté juif—pas d’erreur. Ypérite tard le soir un brouillard commence à remplir la vallée Sans le savoir il nous étouffe et nous étrangle comme un pouvoir occulte Sur les champs restent nos cadavres et sous le vert de nos plaines une terre brune. Tyne Cot Quand tu es parti pour le front tu étais un héros vivant et maintenant tu es sur le haut de la colline où il n’y a que des coquelicots qui fleurissent

Stalag Zehn B the feldwebel became a general the campdoctor, a professor and we the jews—it’s banal we stayed jewish—no error. Yperite late at night a mist fills the valley. without knowing it suffocates like a dark power. on the fields our dead bodies and under the grass a brown soil. Tyne Cot when you left for the front you were living heroes and now you’re on top of the hill where only poppies blow....

Charter for compassion / Belgium / Jan Theuninck

https://charterforcompassion.org/belgium

Belgium

 

Jan Theuninck

(1954-    )

Though born after World War II in 1954, Jan Theuninck finds himself writing about the war and its aftermath.  A poet and minimalist painter with a strong interest in social and political issues, Theuninck writes under his own name as well as the pen-name, ORC, a name he uses in honor of Raoul Wallenberg.  Although Dutch is his mother tongue, he often writes in French.  His work frequently appears in poetry journals and magazines internationally.

Shoah

 

wandering jew, damned jew

and no words on them are forbidden

suspected of crimes and treason

they have been put in jail

they have been tortured and murdered

in the name of an insane idea

and now - more than ever -

who is next, please?

 

Shoa

 

juif errant , juif maudit
et nul mot sur eux est interdit
traités de crimes et de trahisons

ils ont été mis en prison

on les a torturés et tués

au nom d’une infâme idée

et maintenant plus que jamais

a qui le tour s’il vous plaît ?

 

 

 

Yperiet

 

‘s avonds laat

vult een mist

Jde vallei

zonder te beseffen

verstikt hij ons

als een duistere macht

op de velden

liggen onze lijken

en onder het graseen bruine aarde.     

 

                                                       

Yperite

 

late at night

a mist

fills the valley.

without knowing

it suffocates

like a dark power.

on the fields

our dead bodies

and under the grass

a brown soil

 

Zuydcote 

 

the sun shines

on the dune

the bunkers hide 

the undesirable

all of them lose 

their innocence

lost blood 

on the beach

the sea...

guilty!

 

Auschwitz  

 

burned in the oven

I perished in smoke

the remaining ashes

are deep grey

 

Red River  

 

the train was too late

by foot it was too far

the river too nearby

the hatred too strong

bullets through your head

river of blood

red Danube

dead Budapest

This poem is about the elimination of approximately 20.000 Jews who fell victim to the fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest.  Today artwork depicted in the wikipedia article is a monument to them:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoes_on_the_Danube_Promenade

 

. Text from the poem, Tyne Cot cut in the corten steel wall of the library in Zonnebeke, Belgium

© by Jan Theuninck

 

Tyne Cot

 

when you left

for the front

you were

living heroes

and now

you are on top

of the hill

where only

poppies

blow..........

 

Tyne Cot is the largest military cemetery of Commonwealth forces on the continent (WW1), the text is cut in the wall of the library in Zonnebeke, Belgium, a mile away from Tyne Cot : see photo at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_Cot

Hill 60 

 

poppies blood

on the green grass

on the hills of mud

away they pass

© by Jan Theuninck 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hill_60_(Western_Front)

 

Polygon Wood   

 

like a shrine

you lie

in the middle

of the wood

and warn

of those

who preach

peace

and make

war

  © by Jan Theuninck 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Polygon_Wood

2.Frans Masereel
3.Emile Verhaeren

Op 7 september 2025 in het Emile Verhaeren Museum in Sint-Amands aan de Schelde(Puurs) : 

"For peace" by Jan Theuninck - UNODA (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs), 2011

For peace

we have to fight a war
against terror
against psychological terror
against psychopathical leaders
we have to fight a war

— Jan Theuninck

Where is my kalashnikov ? - 2018 

https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/special/poetryforpeace/poems/theuninck.html

LEXIA:PORTAL DE POESIA Y LETRAS - Jan Theuninck & Bukowsky, Camus, Prévert, Ungaretti, Pessoa, Cardenal, etc

 

LEXIA:PORTAL DE POESIA Y LETRAS

POETAS DEL RESTO DEL MUNDO

 

 

 

 

 

Dossier especial POETAS MEXICANOS Selección MARIO MELENDEZ

"TABANOS". 13 POETAS CHILENOS

POESIA BILINGÜE

 

 

https://lexia.com.ar/Poetas%20del%20resto%20del%20%20Mundo.html 

 

JAN   THEUNINCK    -   Bélgica

"Ypérite "   tard le soir un brouillard commence à remplir la vallée Sans le savoir il nous étouffe et nous étrangle comme un pouvoir occulte Sur les champs restent nos cadavres et sous le vert de nos plaines une terre brune .

" Yperite "   late at night a mist fills the valley. without knowing it suffocates like a dark power. on the fields our dead bodies and under the grass a brown soil

" TYNE COT "   Quand tu es parti pour le front tu étais un héros vivant et maintenant tu es sur le haut de la colline où il n’y a que des coquelicots qui fleurissent

"TYNE COT "   when you left for the front you were living heroes and now you're on top of the hill where only poppies blow..........

"Stalag Zehn B"   le feldwebel est devenu général le docteur du camp , professeur et nous les juifs - c'est banal - on est resté juif - pas d'erreur .

"Stalag Zehn B"   the feldwebel became a general the campdoctor , a professor and we the jews - it's banal we stayed jewish - no error .

Jan Theuninck was born(54.06.07) in Zonnebeke,Belgium. Also known under the pen name of ORC(°1954),a few of his poems became famous e.g. "Stalag Zehn B","Papirac","Yperite" ,"Tyne Cot" and "Shoa" , which is an early warning against an ideological hate .Native speaker in Dutch , he writes in French , sometimes in English .His poetry has been translated in many languages and is given in courses at different universities

https://lexia.com.ar/Jan%20Theuninck.htm