Don’t Give Me The Whole Truth

Don’t give me the whole truth,

don’t give me the sea for my thirst,

don’t give me the sky when I ask for light,

but give me a glint, a dewy wisp, a mote

as the birds bear water-drops from their bathing

and the wind a grain of salt.

Olav H Hauge

1908-1994

lived all his life in Ulvik, a village in the west of Norway on the Hardangerfjord. He translated many English and American writers into Norwegian.

‘Don’t Give Me The Whole Truth’ was translated from the Norwegian by Robin Fulton

from the anthology ‘Being Human’,

the companion anthology to ‘Being Alive’ and ‘Staying Alive’

edited by Neil Astley

Bloodaxe Books