Questioning
A Message to travellers (Jan van Nijlen)
Posted 07-13-2009 at 10:15 AM by itSFMe
I think it's time to share an other well known Dutch poem with you all 
Especially the first 2 lines have been quoted many times - the last 2 a little less. I doubt whether there are many people who know about the middle part 
I must say, that the first 2 lines sound WAY better in Dutch 
I just don't know how else to translate them (not that this is my own translation 
) ...
Never board your train without your suitcase full of dreams,
Then you will find in every place adequate shelter.
Sit peacefully and patiently near the open window:
You are a traveler and no one knows your name.
Look back to the past with the fresh eyes of a child.
Gaze nonchalantly and keenly, dreamily and delightedly.
Everything that you see growing in the black earth of springtime
Be assured: it was planted only for you.
Let traveling salesmen say a little word about the film censor:
God smiles and chooses his hour.
Greet the station master affably as he stands behind his green gates,
Because without his signal the train can never depart.
And if the train will not go forward, much to the detriment
Of your hopes and desires and cents bitterly meted out,
Remain calm and open your suitcase; draw from your reserves
And you will never experience even one lost hour.
And as the train arrives in some exotic place,
The name of which you have never heard in your life before,
Then you have achieved your goal, then you have learned for the first time
What travel means for the dullards and for the truly wise….
Above all don’t be surprised that, running alongside the ordinary trees,
A perfectly ordinary train brings you into the heart of Rome.
I myself really like the idea that no hour is lost, if you can just go into your mind and dream on 
Delays are a pain, but if you manage not to get annoyed by them they can also be an oasis of rest and give you time to think 
Especially the first 2 lines have been quoted many times - the last 2 a little less. I doubt whether there are many people who know about the middle part I must say, that the first 2 lines sound WAY better in Dutch I just don't know how else to translate them (not that this is my own translation ) ... Never board your train without your suitcase full of dreams,
Then you will find in every place adequate shelter.
Sit peacefully and patiently near the open window:
You are a traveler and no one knows your name.
Look back to the past with the fresh eyes of a child.
Gaze nonchalantly and keenly, dreamily and delightedly.
Everything that you see growing in the black earth of springtime
Be assured: it was planted only for you.
Let traveling salesmen say a little word about the film censor:
God smiles and chooses his hour.
Greet the station master affably as he stands behind his green gates,
Because without his signal the train can never depart.
And if the train will not go forward, much to the detriment
Of your hopes and desires and cents bitterly meted out,
Remain calm and open your suitcase; draw from your reserves
And you will never experience even one lost hour.
And as the train arrives in some exotic place,
The name of which you have never heard in your life before,
Then you have achieved your goal, then you have learned for the first time
What travel means for the dullards and for the truly wise….
Above all don’t be surprised that, running alongside the ordinary trees,
A perfectly ordinary train brings you into the heart of Rome.
Spoiler:
Delays are a pain, but if you manage not to get annoyed by them they can also be an oasis of rest and give you time to think 
Total Comments 4
Comments
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it's a very beautiful poem
Posted 07-13-2009 at 02:27 PM by _Mandy_
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I love it, simply didn't understand what salesmen have to do with the film censor
The rest is so true!Posted 07-15-2009 at 10:03 AM by Aventura -
The Dutch version comes across slightly different from the English version, so I think it means something like "be happy, stay calm, let nothing bother you while you're on this trip of dreams, not even one of those traveling salesmen who will blather on about anything"Posted 07-15-2009 at 04:17 PM by Helanren - Ah thanks, it does make sense now!Posted 07-15-2009 at 04:36 PM by Aventura
