DANTE’S ‘HEAVEN’
Created in response to a poem by Jan Kemp:

Dante’s ‘heaven’

We two fallen through earth’s core
beached here at Mt Purgatory
blink back antipodean light
days on end.

There’s sky enough to dive into
islands in green-blue water
to swim to.

Heaven to be earthly
looking up nightly
at the blackness
milky with stars.

Jan Kemp
Title poem from: Dante’s Heaven (Puriri Press/Tranzlit),  2006

This poem is included in a bilingual edition translated into German by Jan’s husband Dieter:
Dantes Himmel – (English – Deutsch) transl. by Dieter Riemenschneider,
Verlag André Thiele, Mainz, Germany, 2012

Collections of poems in English: Dante’s Heaven, 2006, Voicetracks
Puriri Press, Auckland, NZ
Tranzlit, Kronberg im Taunus, Germany, 2012

Email Jan Kemp

New Zealand poetry archive