Andrés Ehin (1940) was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He graduated from the University of Tartu as a Finno-Ugric philologist, and is author of 11 neosurrealist poetry books including The oak of wolves (1968), A door on the expanse (1971), Permit the small bird to twaddle outdoors (1976), Mental nostrils (1978) and I sip darknesses (1988). His poems have been translated into 23 languages. He has received many awards including the Estonian Cultural Capital Prize for best poetry book of the year (1996), the Looming Prize for best novel of the year (1998), and the Estonian National Prize for his poetry collection Subconsciousness is always jolly (2001).

J. Talvet and H.L. Hix have translated work by Ehin dating from the 1950s to the present day. Richard Adang is an American translator.

Spring Night

Grass and leaves smell
every moment more wild.

Women are every moment
more beautiful and alive.

Sharp stars
prick one?s nostrils
and cause a sneeze.

Kevadöö

Rohi ja lehed l?hnavad
iga viivuga järjest pöörasemalt.

Naised on iga viivuga
aina ilusamad ja elusamad.

Teravad taevatähed
torgivad ninas??rmeid
ja ajavad aevastama.


1959     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

Infinitude

     on the motives of F. García Lorca


The elm understands you and a clod understands you.
The sorrel knows to tell everything about you.
Even a spider understands you.
You, you will never close your eyes.

Mud listens to you, the sun listens to you.
You speak with shoots and speak with a stump.
Fish come to you and snow comes
to you, you will never close your eyes.

A cat knows you and light knows you.
In your ventricles are a whale and a squirrel.
Your hair longs to be yarrow.
Rocks crow of you like cocks.
Of you, you will never close your eyes.

Of you, you will never close your eyes.
The ship of your voice avoids all reefs.
Daggers of scented words will flash forever.
You will wrap the horizon around your little finger.
And feel on your neck your own distant stare.

L?pmatus

     F. Garcia Lorcast tema enda motiividel


Jalakas m?istab sind ja m?istab mätas.
Hapuoblikas teab sinust öelda k?ik.
Isegi ämblik saab sinust aru.
Sinust, sa eales silmi ei sule.

Muda kuulab sind, päike sind kuulab.
K?netad orast ja kändu k?netad.
Kalad tulevad su juurde ja lumi tuleb
su juurde, sa eales silmi ei sule.

Kass tunneb sind ja tunneb sind valgus.
Sinu südamekambris on vaal ja orav.
Raudrohi ihkab olla su juus.
Kaljud kirevad sinust kui kikkad.
Sinust, sa eales silmi ei sule.

Sinust, sa eales silmi ei sule.
Möödub k?igist karidest su hääle laev.
Jäävad välkuma l?hnavate s?nade pistodad.
Silmapiiri mähid ümber väikese s?rme.
Ja kuklas tunned omaenese kauget pilku.


1960     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

The Sequel to Things

in the peat bog is rooted a grand piano
beside a quagmire on a spinning stool
a young pianist has nodded off
father a bookkeeper
mother a dentist
thirty-five years old
unmarried
not a party member
has been abroad
has given concerts in finland and the people?s rep of mongolia
has taken a cruise ship down the donau river

so there he sleeps
his tux rots slightly
he himself still enjoys good health

yet there grows right through his head
as through an old basement
a young and light-green birch

Asjade jätkud

turbarabasse on sugenenud tiibklaver
mülka k?rval keerleval ümaristmel
uinub noor helikunstnik

isa raamatupidaja
ema hambaarst
kolmkümmend viis aastat vana
vallaline
parteitu
käinud ka välismaal
andnud kontserte soomes ja mongoolia rv s
s?itnud korra turismilaevaga mööda doonau j?ge

nii ta seal uinub
frakk kipub pehastuma
ise on ta täie tervise juures

ometi kasvab ?ige pea läbi tema
nagu läbi vana vundamendi
üks noor ja heleroheline kask


1970     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

White Ear

the wind of passions around the house of oblivion
a white star twinkles in the mind
winds and a capital letter from an unknown alphabet

wherever one travels
power always has power
and love knows where it goes

dew evaporates from grass
happiness continues in sultry air

two rounded hills
and a grassy inlet smile

your white ear is never burnt

Valge K?rv

kirgede tuul ümber unustuse maja
valge täht vilgub ajus
tuuled ja suurtäht tundmatust tähestikust

käidagu kus tahes
ikka on ühel v?imul v?im
ja armastus teab kuhu läheb

kaste aurab rohult
?nn jätkub leitsakus

naeratavad kaks ümarat küngast
ja rohune laht

ei k?rbe iial su valge k?rv


1972     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

[Wet Asphalt...]

wet asphalt under the wheel
still sprays mud?s bravery
which loiters with mists and low-pressure

there is instead a broomstick in the mind
and an apple from the top of a tree lies
half rotten on the garage floor

there is no desire to hold anything
but rather to touch everything lightly
there is no belief in a definite doctrine
but in the non-existence that floats everywhere

o potato prophets
o jesus of the sugar beet
beware beware
I have on my hand a tattered diamond glove
on the slope of a hill I gnaw slalom skis
once in viljandi
I was even a platinum oarsman
and looked down from munamägi to the valley

now I am myself a lake and munamägi
I gnaw oars that push the mountain
I am a tank truck
a laughing slaughter-house

I am the next olympic games
they build hotels in my honor
a huge basement hole is always dear to me

my tentacles grip moscow and tallinn
I am marsalkka* and mohammed ali
my fist follows the mannerheim line
there is no belief in a definite doctrine
but in the non-existence that floats everywhere

I am a chlorinated swimming pool
so that after you swim your eyes sting
I am a shopping basket and a crammed trolley

wet asphalt under the wheel
still sprays mud?s bravery
which loiters with mists and low-pressure

* marsalkka - so the President of Finland marshal Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim was usually named by Finns. Soviet attempt to occupy Finland failed in 1939 because of resistance of Finnish army supremely organized by Mannerheim

[Märg Asfalt...]

märg asfalt ratta alt veel
poriuljust pritsib
mis mestis ududega madalr?huga

peas hoopiski on luuavars
ja ladvaubin garaazip?randal
on ammu pehastunud

ei taha omaks v?tta midagi
kuid k?ike riivamisi käsitella
ei ole usku kindlasse doktriini
vaid olematusse mis k?ikjal ujub

oo mugulprohvetid
oo söödapeedijeesus
te vaadake te vaadake
mul käes on aulik teemantkinnas
mäen?lval närin slaalomsuuski
plaatinast
kord viljandiski olin paadimees
ja munamäel ma vaatsin alla orgu

nüüd ise olen järv ja munamägi
ma närin aere mäge t?ukavaid
bensiiniauto olen
naerev tapamaja

ma olen järjekordsed olümpiamängud
nad minu auks hotelle ehitavad
suur vundamendiauk on ikka armas mulle

mu kombitsate haardes moskva tallinnaga
ma olen marsalkka ja mohammed ali
mu rusikas käib mööda mannerheimi liini
ei ole usku kindlasse doktriini
vaid olematusse mis k?ikjal ujub

ma olen klooritatud ujumisbassein
et pärast ujumist sul silmad kipitaksid
ma olen ostukorv ja pungil trollibuss

märg asfalt ratta alt veel
poriuljust pritsib
mis mestis ududega madalr?huga


1979     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

Pellet Lips

Baltic herrings groan like the eclipse of a whip-moon in ladle-peace
or canned in tomato sauce
a foaming ghost-nail falls tenderly on a neck
ask the skeleton for a cigarette and pellet lips for the wind
let slime crunch like a potato-campground
pressed in the cranny are bumpy mammoths
and bubonic mammoths
with an all-union coral reef sporting a lenin order medal

cream butter does not know why its kiss
does not excite a but or a maybe
even though cream butter is wholly in that kiss
a pornographer schizogonized like a paramecium
cannot guess
which is female

above all the whole society is troubled
because on the waterfall crossroad the third strike is still out
a babesiotic blusher pisses on a crossroad in the crossfire
and is tapped to be a general
so that his thigh greys

sneakers in contrast dream of
the happiness of a global amputation
where nobody carries them
and where nobody wears them

lazily an ataman winds over the tangled paris
over a stock exchange ankle adorned with switches
false london frightens trench mortars
with its sinister westminster

mines fissure armpits
and the big ones tick with mouths full of sugar
mortars run
into the sea following a flock of ducks
before reaching the water
under the mites a marsh starts to throb

the whip-moon beats groaning herrings to death
into the cranny a skeleton makes
some spit and also the all-union pellet lips fly

Haavelhuuled

oigavad räimed nagu piitskuu varjutus kulbirahus v?i
tomatis
vahutav tondiküüs langeb hellalt kaelale
küsi luukere käest tuulele suitsu ja haavelhuuli
las krudiseb lima otsekui kartul-turismibaas
seinaprakku on litsutud muhkmammutid ja
muhkkatkmammutid
koos üleliidulise lenini ordenit kandva korallrifiga

koorev?i teada ei v?i miks ehku ega egat
ta suudlus ei eruta
ometi on koorev?i üleni selle suudluse sees
kingloomana poolduv pornograaf
ei oska oletada
kes neist on emane

eriti ajab kogu seltskonda segadusse see
et kose ristil kuulutatakse kolm taas kohtuseaduseks
piroplasmootiline punastaja kuseb risttule all risttee peale
ja ülendatakse kl?psti kindraliks
nii et kints hall

spordijalats seevastu unistab
globaalse amputeerimise ?nnest
kuhu teda keegi ei kanna
ja kus teda keegi ei kanna

laisalt lookleb ataman üle pahkliku pariisi
üle orjavitstega ehitud börsipahkluu
libalondon ehmatab miinipildureid
oma v?ika westminsteriga

miinid pragunevad kaenlas ja
suured tiksuvad suud suhkrut täis
jooksevad pildurid
merre pardikarjale järele
enne vette j?udmist
hakkab lestade all tuksuma soo

piitskuu peksab oigavad silgud surnuks
luukere lennutab koos süljega seinaprakku ka
oma üleliidulised haavelhuuled


1980     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

[The Fate of the Baltic Countries...]

the fate of the baltic countries will be determined by russia
the fate of russia will be determined by japan
the fate of japan will be determined by the pacific ocean
the abyss of tuscarora

fate rises from east
like a deceitful sun

[Läänemeremaadele Saab Saatuslikuks Venemaa]

läänemeremaadele saab saatuslikuks venemaa
venemaale saab saatuslikuks jaapan
jaapanile saab saatuslikuks vaikne ookean
tuscarora sügavik

saatus t?useb idast
otsekui petlik päike


1992     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

A Vegetated Director

with his head thrust into a vase among flowers
and feet almost to the ceiling
the general director had to spend
half of his workday
after a while
an exaggerated fear haunted him
that someone might take advantage
of his helpless state
loosen the strings
of his crocodile shoes
and take them

then a much graver worry
developed in his mind
my head has been under water for several hours
why don?t I get choked
have I really grown gills

a quarter of an hour before the end of the workday
the secretary who had left under mysterious circumstances
returned
seeing her superior in such a position
she was very frightened
and called for help
together they pulled the director?s head
from the vase
as he was being pulled out
the director saw himself
mirrored in the window

he saw that his hair and beard
had turned into thin roots
on the leg hairs
that could be seen between a sock and a cuff
flowers were blooming

I am vegetated thought the director
this didn?t prevent him
from flying to Brussels next morning

Taimne Direktor

pea lillede vahele vaasi torgatud
ja jalad peaaegu et vastu lage
n?nda pidi peadirektor veetma
poole oma tööpäevast
mingil ajavahemikul tekkis tal
liialdatud kartus
et keegi v?ib ta abitut olekut
ära kasutada
ta krokodillinahast kingade
paelad lahti nöörida
ja need endale v?tta

seejärel sugenes ta pähe aga
hoopis t?sisem mure
mu pea on juba mitu tundi vee all
miks ma ära ei lämbu
kas t?esti on mulle
l?pused kasvanud

veerand tundi enne tööpäeva l?ppu
tuli arusaamatutel p?hjustel
välja läinud sekretärineiu tagasi
oma ülemust säärases asendis nähes
kohkus ta üliväga
ja kutsus abimehed
üheskoos sikutati direktori pea
vaasist välja
aknaklaasides nägi direktor
väljat?mmatavat iseennast
vastu peegeldumas

ta nägi et ta juustest ja habemest
olid saanud peenikesed juured
soki ja püksisääre vahelt
paistvate jalakarvade otsa
olid kasvanud lille?ied

ma olen taimne m?tles direktor
see ei takistanud teda järgmisel hommikul
brüsselisse lendamast


1993     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

Peas Soaked in Sherry

I pull fragile peaches from a dusty dossier
I beat     my painful rat?s tail beats
vigilant geese
so that they will be sure to watch over the mouldy field of bliss
I harm nightmares that have just begun to green
and I create an occult life
I finish an unstarted poem with a strong climax
that a very beautiful stripper sucks empty of beauty
I am not at all that me
who salves cheeks
with a virtue-cream with sky blue

you open your mouth so that one after another
herrings of infinitude and peas soaked in sherry could fall into it
it?s my mouth you open
and in defiance of history and morality
keep wide open

you are a philosophic entrance and the back room of stupidity
where warm winds cordially rage

Heereses Leotatud Herned

ma t?mban haprad virsikud tolmunud toimikust välja
ma peksan     mu valus rotisaba peksab
valvsaid hanesid
et nood v?taksid valvata hallitanud ?ndsuse välja
ma vigastan vaevu haljendama löönud viirastusi
ja loon okultse elu
ma l?petan alustamata luuletuse v?imsa ilupuändiga
mille imeb ilust tühjaks imekaunis striptiisitar
ma pole sugugi see mina
kes määrib p?skedele voorusekreemi taevasina

sina avad suu et sinna v?iksid ükshaaval langeda
l?pmatuse heeringad ja heereses leotatud herned
see on minu suu mille sa avad
ja mida sa ajaloo ja k?lbluse kiuste
pärani lahti hoiad

sa oled filosoofiline esik ja totruse tagatuba
kus möllavad südamlikult soojad tuuled


1998     Translated by J.Talvet and H.L.Hix

Our Christmas Present to F and B

"France and Belgium
         are engaged in an eternal struggle
               to improve the condition
                      of human rights.

For Arabs and Black Africans
         huddled over the heating vents
                of the Paris Metro on wintry nights
                       conditions are already quite good,"
announced Human Rights High Commissioner Christmas Roebuck of Rävala.

"Therefore, as our Christmas gift,
         France and Belgium hereby receive
                the distinguished nomination of the Baltic states.
From this day forth they shall be recognized
         as full legal members
                of the Baltic Common Market."

Oatmeal ladles
         are already in the hands
                  of blood-sausage-elves.
By the sweat of their brow
         they are digging, carving the Baltic Sea
                   southward, ever southward
                         to where the mannequin piss
                                and Eiffel pierces the sky.

Meie Jöulukink P-Le Ja B-Le

"prantsusmaa ja belgia
v?itlevad pidevalt
inim?iguste olukorra
parandamise eest
araablaste ja mustade aafriklaste
talveöine olukord
pariisi metroo
soojade ventilatsiooniv?rede peal
on juba päris hea"

t?deb i ? ülemkomissar nehatu näärisokk
"seepärast saavad
prantsusmaa ja belgia
meilt j?ulukingiks
balti riigi austava nimetuse

nüüdsest peale on nad
balti ühisturu
täie?iguslikud liikmed"

verivorstjatele päkapikkudele
on kaerakiletatud labidad
juba kätte antud

palehigis kaevavad nad balti merd
ikka ikka l?una poole
sinna kus mannekeen pissib
ja eiffel taevast torgib


1998     Translated by Richard Adang

[A Down-Feathered Hunter...]

a down-feathered hunter hunts moleskin ducks
his rifle is more tender than the violet of montmartre
the gunfire is so brief and frail
it fades and withers so quickly
how to save the beauty of the primordial red flash
what kind of museum can preserve it

horses have their stables
lambs have their sheds
even wolves have their dens

only the brief crack of rifle fire has no shelter

Püssipauk

udusuline jahimees kütib kuradinahkseid parte
ta püss on montmartre´i kannikesest ?rnem
püssituli on nii üürike ja nii habras
närtsib nii ruttu

millega hoida ürgpunase sähvatuse ilu
mis muuseum tahaks seda talletada

hobustel on tallid
talledel on laudad
huntidel on urud

p?gus püssipauk ei saa
ühtki peavarju omaks pidada

mahalastav elab kauem kui tema


2000     Translated by the author with Richard Adang

to be a dog-apartment

to be a dog-apartment with three barking rooms
with a snout-bathroom
where one tap dribbles cold
and the other hot slobber

to be a dog-apartment with floors
that howl towards moon-yellow ceiling lamps at nights

to be a dog-apartment
that detests the smell of cats

to be a dog-apartment
whose sofa hairs bristle up
even at the stench
               of distant felines

olla koerkorter

olla koerkorter kolme haukuva toaga
koonvannitoaga
kus on külma ila ja
kuuma koola tilkuvad kraanid

koerkorter p?randatega
kes uluvad kuukollaste laelampide poole

koerkorter
kes ei kannata kassil?hna
kelle diivanikarvakesed
t?usevad turri
     ka kaugete kaslaste
          haisu peale


2000     Translated by the author with Richard Adang

Resurrection

                   In memory of the tens of thousands of Estonians
                   deported to Siberia, Easter Week, 1949


These trains were all so long
and locomotives gasped in distress.
On the rotting straws we spent
this ill and silent Passion Week.

In the beginning I wasn´t afraid
that I might fade in the train
but on Holy Thursday
typhus had strewn some among the strawbed.

When in the cold and damp train
we died in each other´s embrace
our slain nation didn´t believe
that one day we`ld rise from the dead.

Ülestöusmine

                   märtsi küüditamiste mälestuseks


Need rongid olid k?ik pikad
ja vedurid ähkisid häda.
Meil pehkinud p?hkudel möödus
see haige ja vaikne nädal.

Ei peljanud algul ma siiski,
et rongis ka mina murdun.
Kuid kaduneljapäeval
leiti ?lgedelt tüüfusse surnuid.

Kui külmas ja r?skes rongis
me surime üksteise süles,
ei uskunud rusutud rahvas,
et uuesti t?useme üles.


2002     Translated by Richard Adang