Transpoesie - Poems

COLD-SHIVER OIL

Once upon a time when Queen Elizabeth

of England was twenty-two she

suddenly stepped out of a bathtub

and raised her hands so high towards the sky

in some fit of optimism that she felt

a stinging stitch in her side. She slowly

slipped into a pair of soft long trousers that

somebody had smuggled into her room

and lay quiet for what remained of the day.

Translation: Pétur Knútsson & Sigurbjörg Þrastardóttir