La casa della poesia
- 5 ago 2020
- Tempo di lettura: 12 min

Sulla poesia di Monica Aasprong

“Ho inventato un bambino”, così si apre la poesia tratta da “Un bambino inventato” di Monica Aasprong, un testo in cui il racconto e il ritmo sembrano emergere da una storia popolare, una filastrocca, una nenia. La poetessa ha la capacità di unire azione e immagine dipanando nei suoi versi figure solo in apparenza rassicuranti ma che, in realtà, racchiudono l'antica cattiveria del vivere. Il fuoco, il ghiaccio, la luce, gli uccelli e gli animali prendono vita incarnando simboli più grandi di loro e accompagnano il lettore in un'atmosfera che, lentamente, riempie la poesia di quella conoscenza che non conosce, ma tenta ripetutamente l'appiglio ai perchè dell'esistere. Inventare un bambino, come a dire che la poesia, come la vita stessa richiede anche il rischio improvviso del gioco, la responsabilità di agire. Invenzione dunque, non creazione, per arrivare al paradosso stesso dell'atto poetico che, creando i suoi profondi feticci e le sue allusioni può anche dire: non è così facile,/dico io,/generare un volto/. Un volto che, da sempre, non è solo presenza ma specchio che riflette un'immagine la cui realtà è altrove.

commento critico di Wolfango Testoni

BIOGRAFIA

Monica Aasprong è nata nel 1969 a Kristiansund, sulla costa norvegese occidentale, e attualmente vive a Stoccolma. Ha pubblicato quattro libri, un romanzo e tre raccolte di poesie: “Soldier's Market” (2006), “An Invented Child” (2010) e “Circle Psalm” (2013). Lavora con installazioni e Audioworks, e il suo ultimo libro, “Sirkelsalme (til Betlehem /til Jerusalem)”, è stato eseguito anche come installazione sonora a Audiorama a Stoccolma e ad un concerto in collaborazione con il compositore norvegese Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje al Kunstnernes Hus di Oslo 2013. “Circle Psalm” non ha né un inizio né una fine stabilita, e anche la sua struttura gioca con la forma infinita del cerchio. Una delle sue raccolte di poesie è stata tradotta in danese, e suoi estratti anche in alcune altre lingue come lo spagnolo, l'arabo, l'ebraico, l'olandese, il francese e il fiammingo. Ha lavorato come redattore e traduttore, e ora fa parte del comitato di redazione di Oslo Pilot, un progetto che indaga le possibilità del testo poetico nello spazio pubblico.

From An Invented Child

I invented a child

it doesn't give me peace

I see it being carried

bloody and born

no - I tell the child

that’s not how we should see it

no the child says: here we scream

I shall tell you the fairy tale you’re so fond of. That of the fire:

I met the fire in the forest

the fire saw me and looked

at me with blazing eyes

it came closer and closer

and the warmth warmed

from its arms yellow

its face red

it stops and asks:

will you come with me into the forest

come with me through the trees

through the grass

across the field, I’ll go

under the earth, said the fire

with its mouth full of bark

and its voice full of flowers

and I joined it on its journey

walked beside it in the dark

I’ll show the way, said the fire

I give you tears that sprout

you shall use them

when someone forces themselves inside

then you shall let that crying sprout

let the crying dance on the very edge

like the bullets in a fountain

then I give you tears that sob

they come over you

when you least expect them

(and is difficult to stop)

I give you a brother to hate

(and you get the violence as a part of siblinghood)

there’s no room for you in the picture, I say

you must walk yourself, on your legs

I drag around the blood of all feet

that is why,

says the child

no, I say

that can’t be right

it must be something else

a smaller

burden

perhaps a shattered hate

you can try to heal that

I see the child walk

with a bunch

on its back

the book lies open

you have stolen my bonds,

I scream at the child

they are my bonds you have there

not yours

you receive a letter

which is so flat

that it’s nearly

empty

so white

and flat

that it cuts

itself into you

unread

into your eye

tightens your throat

turns your stomach inside out

stop,

says the child

I don’t want

this letter

yes, I say

it’s already written

it’s already on its way

into your eye

the child:

I see a flock move across the sky it is birds and furred animals which have bitten and scratched each other until they have become one, a sort of cloud, all the bodies closely hooked together, to a large darkness of feathers and furs, claws and beaks. I don’t know if they cling to each other out of fear or love, or if they bite and scratch each other out of hatred. Nothing is red. Everything is black. Black as fur. Berries

gas to the lamp, did you remember,

asks the child

and blood to the fur

you gave me a lamp of silver

no, an ocean, it was

an ocean

the column of the back in water

the nail’s power

unfolds

hair

the wounds and

the fur to the dog

glass to the bell jar

glass flax to

the pig flax in

the floor

it’s not so easy,

I say,

to breed a face

I shall eat you alive

I shall do that for you

if you will be my mother

if you’re offering

living eyes

living ice ice in

the veins ice in the skull

fat whole ice-carcasses

alive

the light

of an eye dark

of a mouth blood

of a nose

lips

I conjure up

the face mask

I carry it heavily

I strike it if

needs be, crush it

if I must

I have tools

to wipe out all

human features

I know the eye sockets

inside out

the gaze is full of stamps

it shows where you have been

if there is a stamp you want to hide

then be shifty-eyed or sleep

with open or closed eyes

your gaze is stamped at all borders

every time you have crossed a border, I say

to the child, whether they are your own borders

or those of others

you can frighten

others with the fear

in your eyes, I add

you laugh

that screwy laughter of yours

gets on my nerves

but you said I should

use the laughter-crying (that time

you gave me vocal cords as hard

as boards)

no, I say, you’re wrong

you must be thinking of

the fountain-tears

but you said

that I should weep

with the laughter

that I should get a crying

that was a laughter

no I never said that

CIRCLE PSALM

(TO BETHLEHEM / TO JERUSALEM)

I saw a sun that had no fear

I saw a sun that didn’t care

I saw a sun that couldn’t float

I saw a sun in a little boat

I saw a sun that had no words

I saw a sun that woke the birds

I saw a sun that had no earth

I saw a sun that was giving birth

I saw a sun that climbed a tree

I saw a sun that wanted to see

I saw a sun against a wall

I saw a sun about to fall

I saw a sun that tried to root

I saw a sun in a shiny boot

I saw a sun that tried to fly

I saw a sun that loved the sky

I saw a sun that was on the run

I saw a sun that seemed to have fun

I saw a sun that was so silent

I saw a sun that was so violent

I saw a sun we had to share

I saw a sun that was so clear

I saw a sun that was neglected

I saw a sun that was elected

I saw a sun that was a tailor

I saw a sun that was a sailor

I saw a sun that stood in a line

I saw a sun that worked in a mine

I saw a sun behind a wall

I saw a sun that was so small

I saw a sun that was abroad

I saw a sun that looked for God

I saw a sun that dressed in red

I saw a sun that looked for a shed

I saw a sun that rested in bed

I saw a sun that had to be fed

I saw a sun that tried to be brave

I saw a sun that tried to behave

I saw a sun that came precisly

I saw a sun that smiled so nicely

I saw a sun that drew a knife

I saw a sun that fought for its life

I saw a sun that cared for rice

I saw a sun that had a price

I saw a sun inside an egg

I saw a sun that had to beg

I saw a sun we couldn’t deny

I saw a sun inside an eye

I saw a cloud that was a wizard

I saw a cloud that was a lizard

I saw a cloud that was an ox

I saw a cloud that was a fox

I saw a cloud that was a lark

I saw a cloud that was so dark

I saw a cloud that was a snake

I saw a cloud drink from a lake

I saw cloud that lost its way

I saw a cloud that wanted to stay

I saw a cloud that seemed to be new

I saw a cloud that had turned blue

I saw a cloud in a uniform

I saw a cloud that was so warm

I saw a cloud that was so young

I saw a cloud that sang a song

I saw a cloud that had a scar

I saw a cloud that hid a star

I saw a cloud that fired a shot

I saw a cloud that rained a lot

I saw a cloud that was of lead

I saw a cloud that went through a head

I saw a cloud that could explode

I saw a cloud that was on the road

I saw a cloud that was of mist

I saw a cloud that was on a list

I saw a cloud that had no choice

I saw a cloud that had a voice

I saw a cloud that was a vase

I saw a cloud that had a face

I saw a cloud that was of wool

I saw a cloud that was a tool

I saw a cloud that was a saw

I saw a cloud that had a claw

I saw a cloud that had a jaw

I saw a cloud that broke the law

I saw a wall that stood in an eye

I saw a wall that was so high

I saw a wall that was so cold

I saw a wall that was very old

I saw a wall that was a border

I saw a wall with a sleeping disorder

I saw a wall that stood in a lane

I saw a wall that was in a brain

I saw a wall that was so small

I saw a wall that kicked a ball

I saw a wall that stood in a park

I saw a wall that hid in the dark

I saw a wall that was of fog

I saw a wall that had a dog

I saw a wall that had no fear

I saw a wall that had an ear

I saw a wall that had an eye

I saw a wall that tried to cry

I saw a wall that followed a star

I saw a wall that followed a car

I saw a wall that stood by the sea

I saw a wall that stood by a tree

I saw a wall that was in a heart

I saw a wall that was falling apart

I saw a wall that was of glass

I saw a wall one couldn't pass

I saw a wall that was of stone

I saw a wall that was alone

I saw a wall that couldn’t burn

I saw a wall that couldn’t turn

TRADUZIONE IN LINGUA ITALIANA

Da Un bambino inventato

Ho inventato un bambino

non mi dà pace

lo vedo mentre lo portano

insanguinato appena nato

no - dico al bambino

non è come dovrebbe essere

no dice il bambino: siamo qui a gridare.

ti racconto la fiaba che ti piace tanto. Quella del fuoco:

ho incontrato il fuoco nel bosco

il fuoco mi ha visto e mi ha guardato

con occhi accesi

si è avvicinato pian piano

e il calore scaldava

dalle sue braccia gialle

la sua faccia rossa

si ferma e chiede:

vieni con me nella foresta

vieni con me tra gli alberi

sull'erba

per il campo, andrò

sotto terra, disse il fuoco

con la bocca piena di corteccia

e la voce piena di fiori

e lo raggiunsi nel suo viaggio

camminai accanto a lui al buio

ti indicherò la via, disse il fuoco

ti ho dato lacrime che sgorgano

le userai

quando qualcuno si introdurrà a forza

allora farai sgorgare quel pianto

farai ballare il pianto sull'orlo estremo

come i proiettili in una fontana

allora ti darò lacrime che singhiozzano

ti sorprendono quando meno le aspetti

(difficili da frenare)

ti ho dato un fratello da odiare

(e tu ricevi violenza in segno di fratellanza)

non c'è posto per te nell'immagine, dico io

e tu devi camminare con le tue gambe

mi trascino attorno il sangue di tutti i piedi

ecco perché,

dice il bambino

no, dico io

ciò non può esser giusto

dev'essere qualcos'altro

un fardello

più leggero

forse un odio sconfitto

si può cercare di guarire quello

vedo camminare il bambino

con un mazzo sulla schiena

il libro è aperto

hai rubato le mie obbligazioni,

grido al bambino

quelle sono le mie obbligazioni che hai lì

non le tue

ricevi una lettera

così sottile

che è quasi

Vuota

così bianca

e sottile

che si taglia una via

dentro di te

senza essere letta

dentro il tuo occhio

ti stringe la gola

ti rivolta lo stomaco come un guanto

fermati

dice il bambino

non voglio

questa lettera

sì, dico io

è già scritta

è già in cammino

verso il tuo occhio

il bambino:

vedo un gregge che attraversa il cielo sono uccelli e animali pelosi che si sono morsi e graffiati a vicenda fino a diventare un essere solo, una sorta di nuvola in cui tutti i corpi sono agganciati strettamente gli uni agli altri, in un'oscurità di piume e pelo, artigli e becchi. Non so se si stringano gli uni agli altri per paura o per amore, nė se si mordano e graffino per odio. Nulla ė rosso. Tutto è nero. Nero come il pelo. Bacche

gas per il lampione, ricordavi?

chiede il bambino

e sangue al pelo

mi hai dato una lampada d'argento

no, un oceano, era un oceano

la colonna della schiena in acqua

il potere dell'unghia

scioglie

i capelli

le ferite e

il pelo al cane

il vetro alla campana

la fibra di vetro

al lino per suini nel

pavimento

non è così facile,

dico io,

generare un volto

ti mangerò vivo

farò questo per te

se tu mi farai da mamma