Volha Hapeyeva
Volha Hapeyeva (b. in Minsk, Belarus) is a poet, writer, translator, doctor of linguistics, and artist. She writes in Belarusian and German and has received numerous prizes and awards for her work: Wortmeldungen Literature Preis-2022 (Germany), among others. Her poems have been translated into more than 15 languages. She is the author of 14 books in Belarusian and the English poetry book In My Garden of Mutants (2021, Arc Publication) was awarded the English PEN Translates Award. She was a 2019/2020 writer-in-residence in Graz, a fellow of the Writers-in-Exile Program of German PEN, and in 2022\2023 was a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.
Since 2019, she has lived in Austria and Germany.
I Once Met a Man
–Volha Hapeyeva, translated by Kim Moore
I once met a man
who thought he was a cake
I didn’t identify what type – wedding or birthday
his faith was so strong
that I succumbed
and began to want him
on my plate
but life moved in my way
I queued for a month
letting children and invalids
of unknown wars
ahead of me in the line
when it was my turn
there was only one piece left
and the man-cake announced
to anyone who was listening
I am one
and you are many
I will not be given to anyone
watch me and admire my beauty
the unattainable distance
I recovered myself
realised I’m not a cake lover anyway
From Modern Poetry in Translation. Originally published in The Illuminated Paths, Number 2 (2019).