Moons & Nights
Three seasonal poems in translation
These three poems were originally written by me in Swedish and have been published in №43 of the digital edition of Populär Poesi (Popular Poetry). Naturally, some things get lost in translation, but since I write creatively in mostly Swedish, I thought that a translation might be worth a shot. Also, I thought that they might fit the darker tones of the season, hence I took advantage of the occasion.
“In search of a small, winged moon”
Wasn’t there a white-eye held up for me
to enjoy and remember?
Just so, because it has separated us,
this mile-long desert
Grove of palm, I lie down at your feet
The sun had brought me down — I used to think
— below the edge of longing
Now, I see myself walking in a desert
She has already risen over there,
behind the hill, where the hoof prints remain
An inviolable night
There will be another cordial meeting
with the azure wall, tonight
I have glimpsed what is lurking
behind the silent dunes,
caught its flickering gaze
and heard its whispers
From there,
a small moon opens its black eye
I shoot an arrow at its sky
and dye it in a blooming red.
“There was a cry”
The crescent moon of the throat
creates its own path
straight down
into the wet footprints of depravity
Embraced by my own two arms,
am I not only the motherless child —
but also my mother
I would like to sight
the sun’s bittersweet face
journey from the grass roots
Would like to see everything,
just as it is
The strands of honey from your hair
I have woven
into the gaze’s dark room
A reminder of the flower in
the willow’s shorn hair
“The ruins”
Setterlind’s snow leopard,
the sea of Mishima,
and Sōseki’s heart.
Can I explain
this earth of mine?
Places where I once have been.
The ruins,
over which he weeps,
are not an abandoned campsite
but the most vivid memories
found in another heart
that few know about
The house of stars now shines with the beast.
He likely fell into disfavor,
with his own sea.
And the other’s heart, broken after all.
The thoughts they speak
mostly this language,
but they also speak other ones.
