POETRY ON DAY THREE

Over de datum

- Free translation below -

Vandaag
heb ik zin in taal
maar ik taal niet naar zinnen
regels wil ik
zonder regelmaat, maat of metrum
want trochee is een jambe
en jambe een trochee
dactylus is geen paradox is een anapest
maar daar heb ik niets mee

Vrij vers dan? Nee
dat ligt mij te dicht
bij de THT.

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Free translation into English (although this one's virtually untranslatable and much of the Dutch word play is lost...):

About the date / Out of date¹

Today
I fancy² language
but I don't care for³ sentences
lines/rules⁴ I want
without regularity, measure or metre
because trochee is an iambus
and iambus a trochee
dactyl is not a paradox⁵ is an anapaest
but I don't really like that

Free verse / Quite fresh⁶ then? No
for me that is too close
to the Best before.

¹Dutch: word play between 'over de datum' (about the date) and 'over datum' (out of date).
²Dutch: word play between 'zin' (sentence) and 'zin' (liking).
³Dutch: word play between 'taal' (language) and 'talen naar' (care for).
⁴Dutch:: word play between 'regels' (lines) and 'regels' (rules), the latter refering to figures of speech.
⁵This in true in Dutch, but not in English.
⁶In Dutch 'vrij vers' means both 'free verse' and 'quite fresh', which is crucial here, because it marks the turn from the figures of speech to the freshness of a product.