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Poetry
by

Charlotte Bronte (Charlotte Brontë)

 

The sofa where
your sister died
so short that
she must have
been curled up

The table
where you used to sit
barely larger
than a doormat

..

Your handwriting
delicate like
the pattern in the
misty-white lace cap
displayed on
a tiny doll head
that gazes eyeless
over my shoulder

  

Sófinn þar sem
systir þín dó
svo stuttur að
hún hlýtur að
hafa legið í hnipri

Borðið
sem þið sátuð við
varla stærra
en dyramotta

Rithönd þín
fínleg eins og
mynstrið í
þokuhvítri blúnduhettu
sem situr á
agnarsmáum brúðuhaus
og horfir augnlaus
yfir öxlina á mér

 

Translator:

Sola Bjarnadóttir-O’Connell is a native Icelander who has lived in New York for the past 30 years.  She is pursuing a life-long interest in bringing contemporary poetry and literature to an English-speaking audience and is currently working on translating a collection of Flash fiction to be published in Iceland.  Sola is recipient of the 2013 Leif and Ingrid Sjöberg Translation Award conferred by the American Scandinavian Foundation.  She divides her time between New York City and Reykjavik.

 

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