Friends, You Drank Some Darkness

Seventies Press Books published by Beacon Press

Forty Poems Touching on Recent American History

Edited by Robert Bly

The Sea and the Honeycomb

A Book of Tiny Poems
Edited by Robert Bly

Neruda and Vallejo

Selected Poems
Edited by Robert Bly

Miguel Hernandez and Bias de Otero

Selected Poems
Edited by Timothy Baland and Hardit• St. Martin

Lorca and jimenez

Selected Poems
Chosen ami Translated by Robert Bly

Friends, You Drank Some Darkness

Three Swedish Poets
Martinson, Ekelof, and Transtromer
Chosen and Translated by Robt•rt Bly
 Friends, You
Drank Some Darkness
THREE SWEDISH POETS

Harry Martinson
Gunnar EkelOf
AND

Tomas TranstrOmer
CHOSEN AND TRANSLATED BY

Robert Bly

BEACON PRESS
BOSTON
Copynaht 0 1975 by Robm Bly
Copynaht c 1970 by tlw Sewntin Prns
�•sh •�•Is: Harry MartiniOft pclftllS copyriaht Q 1974
by H•rry Martinson; GIII\Nr Ebkif �- copyriaht c 1965 byGIUUW' EkftOf; and
Tonws Transh'Omn pclftllS copyriaht c 1954. 1958, 1962. 1968 by Tomas TranstriiiNr
�.KOn P..- boob •� publilhecl under the auspicn of th� UniUirian UniwrNihl Aa«iation
Publi1hed simuiUineously in hardcowr •nd pa.-Nck rditions
Simuh•neous publiution in C•n.-cb by S.unders of Toronto, Ltd.
All ri1hts rn�tl
Printed in the Un1tecl St•tn of A�ric•

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

W� •� ar•tdulto H•rry Mnt•nson. lnand Ehlof. Tonws Tr•nst..OIMr. Forf•tter Forlq. and
Bonn1ers Forl.l a for permission to pu bli sh thn� �-in �ish .-nd £nalish.
Tlw tr•nsl.ltions of H•rry M•rtinson -�published earh�r in UnicornJourn•l. Nftll Lrttrn,
Th' North St0r1' Rn;,.,, first Iss"'· M11ntl11s Arti11m, H•nlinl L-. n., N•tion, s-r. S,....,,
St,/h,tal. •nd Firltl; •nd- •� ara td\ll to the rditon of tlwH jourNh fur pn-mislkln to �nt.
Our thanks. •lso. to the ecliton of Odyssey. n., N•tio n. Ch,/sN, Th' H11tlson R.rvi,.,, r­
From '"' f/01111n1 Worltl. n., Vill•l' V01u. Th• Fiftin. Th' Timn Lit,Nry S11ppl,..,.t. , S,.nll.
Solttic,, Tllr L•mprln M11H. A.l.101. •nd Somr. who published �•rlier tr.1nsl.ltions of
Gunn.-r Ekelof.
T ha nks. too, to the Nilon of C•fr Solo. F rrltl, TNnsp•cific. Th' S.wnti.s, Ch•"l"· Micromrps.
Doo11rs. n., S•n� lkvltw. Tit' Timn litrr••Y S11pp/,..,..,_ lorlllon M11pzinr. Thr M•l•lt•t
R.r'Diftll. K.ry.A:. c ..... , •. Boolcs AbrOIIII. S Nc tiOrl J. St;rllt Ntl. R.rtl CH•• R.mtw. t. ..tl.t tltr r., of
• H•ir. Src011tl Aron. MN11t111s Arti11m, f1rst h s 11r. •nd H-11 lit•••ry R.f'OIIW. who published
�nlarw- tr.1nsl.lhons of Tom.s Tr.1nst..O�r.
So� of the Ehlof �ms -�published in 19611 by Chariolftl' Prns unMr the li t�
I Do 8rJI Alo11r AI Nilhl; thew �ms •r� pnntecl with the1r k1nd permiSsion. Llll.lbul�ro Pl'fts
pub hslwd dnt>n �ms of Tr.1nst..Om�r in 1971 undft thr lltlr Ni1h1 Vision . .1nd w� •pprrci.ltr
thnr pernusMon to print h�.
fOf lwlp with the transl.lhons. I -nl to th.lnk npec1.1lly ChnshM Br•H P•ulston. I"'Jid Eblaf.
C•rol Bly. Monic• TranstrOIMf. and l•mn •nd Su� Sclwrer.
Photo crecl1h Ekdof. Swrlan R.dto; Mnhnson. Freclmck Fl�shrr; •nd Tr•nst..-r. Holltftr.

L•brny of C onp n s C•t•loa•na 1n Pubhutton Oat•

Bly. Robftt. comp

F n m ds. you dr.1nk - dtrknrH.
Enllh•h •nd S�lsh; commrnt•ry 1n Enallsh.
"Snftlhn prns books.··
lncluM. btb1101r•phi"
I �• •h portry- ZOth cmtury I M.1rt1nson. H•rry. 1904- II Ehlof. Gunn.�r. 1907-
111 Tr •nstro nwr . Tom.s. 1931- IV Tulr.
rT9583 Bel 839 7' 1'701 7�e.zu
ISBN o-807�390-8
ISBN o-807o-6391-6 Cpbk I
CONTENTS

Harry Martinson 1

Introduction by Robert Bly 3

From Spokskepp, Modem lyrik, and Nomad 5

Kabelskepp 6
The Cable Ship 7

Efter 8
After 9

Fyrmastaren 10
Lighthouse Keeper 11

Ute pa havet 12
Out at Sea 13

Jag ser langt borta 14

I See Women 15

Namnlost 16
No Name for It 17

Zigenarskratt 18
Gypsy Laugh 19

Pa Kongo 20
On the Congo 21

Bomull 22
Cotton 23

Landskap 24
Landscape 25

Skapelsenatt 26
Creation Night 27

Marskvall 28
March Evening 29

Brev fran en boskapsbat 30

Letter from a Cattleboat 31
From Natur, Passadcr, Cikada, and Diktcr om ljus och morker 33

Host 34
Fall 35

Bjorken och barnet 36

The Birch and the Child 37

Kraft 38
Power 39

Havsvinden 40
The Sea Wind 41

fran Passader 42
from The Winds of Passage 43

Kvall i inlandet 46
Dusk in the Country 47

Gudinnan av hyn 48
The Goddess of Skin 49

Mimdikt 50
Moon Poem 51

Daggmasken 52
The Earthworm 53

fran Hades och Euklides 54

from Hades and Euclid 55

Multnande stuga 58
Old Farmhouse 59

Honshus 60
Henhouse 61

Berget i skogen . 62
The Hill in the Woods 63

vi
Gunnar Ekelof 67

Introduction by Robert Bly 69

From Sent pa jorden, Dedikation, Sorgen och stjiirnan,

Fiirjesang, Non serviam, and Sent pa jorden med
Appendix 1962 73
"Blommorna sover i fonstret och lampan stirrar ljus" 74
"The Flowers Doze in the Window and the Lamp Gazes Light" 75

Oktoberspegel 76
Mirror of October 77

Sonatform, denaturerad prosa 78

Sonataform, Methylated Prose 79

Choros 80
Chorus 81

"Forlamad av natten" 82
"Paralyzed by the Night" 83

Pa natten 84
At Night 85

Dromd dikt 86
A Dreamt Poem 87
Manen 88
The Moon 89

Variationer 90
Variations 91

Enquete 106
Questionnaire 10 7

Etyder 10 8
Etudes 109

En julinatt 114
A July Night 1 15
Svanen 11 8
The Swan 119

vii
From Strountcs

"Vern kommer, fragar du" 1 26

"Who Is Coming, You Ask" 1 27

"Fragar du mig var jag finns" 1 28

"If You Ask Me Where I Live" 1 29

"Ty natten kommer" 1 30

"For Night Comes" 1 31

"Den djupa nattens tystnad ar stor'· 1 32

"The Silence of the Deep Night Is Huge" 1 33

"Men pa en annan ort har jag lart" 134

"But Somewhere Else I Have Learned" 135

Trionfo della Morte 1 36

Trionfo della Morte 1 37

"Sa frammande for mig" 140

"So Strange t o Me" 1 41

Monolog med dess hustru 1 42

Monologue with Its Wife 1 43

"Nar de slipper ut genom korgardsgrinden" 1 44

"When They Slip Out Through the Churchyard Gate" 145

"Sedan lange vilar riddaren" 1 48

"The Knight Has Rested for a Long Time" 1 49

"Nar man kommit sa langt som jag i meningsloshet" 150

"When One Has Come As Far As I in Pointlessness" 151

"I drommen har jag mott" 1 52

"In Dreams I Have Met" 1 53

"Ensam i natten trivs jag bast" 1 54

"I Do Best Alone at Night" 1 55

From Gumwr Ekt'/i){: A Cottll'mporary Mystic by

Eric Lirtd,·.�n·rt 158

viii
Tomas Transtromer

Introduction by Robert Bly 167

From 17 dikter, H emligh eter pa viigen, Den h alvfiirdiga

h im/en, and Klanger och spar
Kvall- Morgon 1 72
Evening- Morning 1 73

Skepparhistoria 1 74
Sailor's Tale 1 75

Han som vaknade av sang over taken 176

The Man Awakened by a Song Above His Roof 177

Spar 1 78
Track 1 79

Kyrie 1 80
Kyrie 181

Balakirevs drom ( 1 9 0 5 ) 182

Balakirev's Dream ( 1 9 0 5 ) 1 83

Efter anfall 1 86
After the Attack 187

Paret 1 88
The Couple 189

Lamento 190
Lamento 191

Allegro 192
Allegro 193

Den halvfardiga himlen 194

The Half-Finished Heaven 195
Nocturne 196
Nocturne 197

Ur en afrikansk dagbok ( 1 9 63) 198

From a n African Diary ( 1 9 63) 1 99

ix
Morgon faglar 200
Morning Bird Songs 201

Ensamhet 204
Solitude 205

Eher nagons drid 208

After a Death 209

Under tryck 2 10
Under Pressure 211

Oppna och slutna rum 2 12

Open and Closed Space 213

I det fria 214

Out in the Open 215

Langsam musik 220

Slow Music 221

from Morkerseende and Some New Poems

Namnet 224
The Name 225

Nagra minuter 226

A Few Moments 227

Andrum juli 228

Breathing Space July 229

Med alven 230

Going with the Current 231

Utkantsomrade 234
Outskirts 235

Trafik 236
Traffic 237

Nattjour 240
Night Duty 241
Det oppna fonstret 242
The Open Window 243

Preludier 244
Preludes 245

Uppratt 248
Standing Up 249

Bokskapet 250
The Bookcase 252

Posteringen 254
Sentry Duty 255

I snosmaltningen- 66 258
Snow-Melting Time, '66 259

Langre in 260
Further In 261

Elegi 262
Elegy 263

Markgenomskadande 264
Seeing Through the Ground 265

Den skingrade forsamlingen 266

The Scattered Congregation 267

XI
HARRY MARTINSON
H arry Ma rtinson was born in 1 9 04. When he was fifteen
he ran away fro m home, and went to sea, a nd went on
working as a seaman while all of his po eti c contempo­
raries were going to u niversities or arguing about
Spengler and Valery . It i s clear fro m the nakedness of
his poems that for years he walked a round the world i n
charge of his o wn skin, a n d of l ittle more .
H i s poems have a cu rio u s and lumi nous grace of
langu age. The poems slip on through their own wo rds
like a ship cutting through a quiet sea . Everything feel s
a live, resilient, fragrant, like sea weed u nder water . H i s
poems feel i n S wedi s h a li ttle like Lawrence i n "B avari an
G entians" or Whi tman i n some of the sea pass ages of
"fish-s haped Paumono k . " A good M artinson poem is
like a tunnel that i s open at both ends; his poems never
close with a snap .
H i s poems have something that Lawrence's do not,
a s wel l . We feel i n his work an experience of mo dern
commerce pos sible only to one who has made h i s living.
in i t . H i s work as a seaman brought h i m in tou ch not
only with the romantic body of the sea, as s i milar work
did for G ary S nyder, but a l so with the stiff skeletal will
of commerce. When M artinson talks of tra de, he drops
all thoug � t of brotherhood ; he kno ws it cannot be re­
formed . Meeting Ogden Armour's yacht is like shaking
hands with a rock.
His poem on the Congo seems to me one of the fe w
noble poems ever written by Europeans about A frica . I t
i s not self-deluding ; h e i s aware the B antus are s aying i n
their l anguage, G o t o hell . H i s poems, b y their sheer
grace, s hoot into the future and beco me prophetic with­
out elaborate superstructure . Eucl i d ' s horror a s he finds
how flat Hell i s reminds one of H erbert Marcuse' s recent

3
and sobering description of one-dimensional man, whom
Marcuse regards as a species unique to this century.
Martinson's recent long poem, Aniara, set on a
space ship, has been turned into an opera, and in the last
years has become a popular avant-garde opera in Europe.

Robert Bly

Other Martinson Books in English:

No other poetry collection has been published, although one has

been prepared by Leif Sjoberg and W. H. Auden.

Cape Farewell, translated by Naomi Walford (London: Cresset,

1934 ), short stories, out of print.
Flowering Nettle, translated by Naomi Walford (London:
Cresset, 1935), novel, out of print.
The Road, translated by M. R. Michael (London: Jonathan Cape,
1955, and New York: Reynal, 1956), novel, out of print.
A niara: A Rl-ovicw of Man in Time mtd Space, adapted from the
Swedish by Hugh MacDiarmid and Elspeth Harley
Schubert, introduction by Tord Hall (New York: Knopf,
1956, and London: Hutchinson, 1963 ), long narrative
poem, out of print. Opera version, adapted by Blomdal,
available on Columbia Masterworks, LP M25902.

4
from

SPOKSKEPP
. .

(Gh ost Ship) 1926

M ODERN L YRIK (Modern Poems) 1931

NO MAD (Nomad) 1931-34

KABELSKEPP

Vi fiskade upp a t l an tkabeln mel l a n B a rbadoes och

Tortuga,
ho l lo upp l yktorna
och beslogo nytt katschuk pa saret i dess rygg
15 grader nord l i g bred d , 61 gra der vas t l ig langd .
Nar vi satte orat t i l l det g n agda s t a l let
horde vi hur det su rrade i kabel n .

- Det a r mi l l io n arern a i M o n t real och S : t John som

tala
o m pri set pa kubasockret och sankningen a v
v a r a hyror, s a d e e n av o s s .

Vi stodo dar l a nge o c h t an kte, i e n krets av l yktor,

vi t a l iga kabe l fiskare,
sa sankte vi den l agade kabeln ned t i l l
s i n plats i h avet .
THE CABLE SHIP

We fis hed up the A tlanti c C able one day between the

B arbadoes and the To rtugas,
held up our l anterns
and put so me rubber over the wo und in i t s back,
l atitude 15 degrees north, long i tu de 61 deg rees west .
When we laid our ear down to the gnawed place
we could hear so mething humming i nside the cable.

"It's some millionaires in Montreal and St. John

talking over the pri ce o f Cuban sug ar, and ways to
reduce our wages," one of us said .

For a long time we stood there thinking, in a cir cl e o f

l anterns,
we're all patient cable fishermen,
then we let the co ated cab l e fal l b a ck
to i t s place in the sea.

7
E FTE R

E fter s l aget vid H elgo l an d

o c h efter sl aget v i d U t sh i m a
upploste h avet m annisko l i ken s d r i vt i m mer .
Beha ndl ade dem med sina hem l iga syror .
L a t a l ba t rosser a ta dera s ogo n .
Och forde dem med upplosande s a l te r
sakta t i l lbaka t i l l h avet -
t i l l et t kambriskt skapande urvatten,
t i l l ett nytt forsok.
A ITER

Fol lowing the b at t l e of Heligol and,

and aft er the b a t t l e o f Utshima
the o ce an di ssolved the flotsam o f bodies .
Treated them with i t s s e cret a ci d s .
H a d t he albatro sses e a t u p their eyes .
And u sed i t s fierce s a l t s to gui d e them
carefully b ack to the o cean-
the old fertile C ambrian w a ter,
for a new try .

9
FYRMASTAREN

I tunga flasande nat ter,

nar fyren gu ngar u nder stormskyarna
och det mareldsgloende havet k l a t t ra r uppa t skaret,
si tter du tyst och tanker-
pa L izz - som en gang bedrog d i g -
och den odeskri ande langtan , s o m forvi sade d i g h i t u t
t i l l det s tormgnagda Sci l ly .
O c h du m u m l a r n agot for d i g sjalv
i langa s tormnat ters vak ter
med an fyren kastar s i t t l j u s hund ra m i l u t
i s tormarn a .

JO
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

In the puffing gusty nights,

when the lighthouse s ways under storm clou d s ,
a n d t h e sea w i t h its burning eyes climbs on t h e ro cks,
you sit silently, thinking-
about Liz- who betrayed you that time-
and the fated, how ling longing that exiled you out here
in the stormbeaten S cilly I sland s .
A n d you mumble something t o yourself
during the long watches on stormy nights
while the beacon throws its light a hundred miles out
in the storm.

11
UTE PA HAVET

U te pa havet kanner man en var e l ler en so mmar bara

so m ett v i n ddrag.
Den dri vande Flori d a ta ngen blommar i b l a n d
om som ma ren,
och en varkva l l flyger en sked stork in mo t
Hol l a nd .

12
OUT AT SEA

A t sea you know spring or su mmer j u st as a

faint win d .
Sometimes in summer the drift i ng Flori d a-weed pu ts
out blosso ms,
or one spring eveni ng a spoon-b i l led stork flies in
toward Ho l l and .

13
JAG SER LANGT HORTA

J ag ser l angt bo rta kvi nnor.

De bada i en som m a rflackig sj o .
H o r deras gl asskora skrik
dansa over vat tnens blaa h i nnor. Ser so m en
blomfack l a och ett helgonrop
deras v i t a nakenhets lov
resas i en blom mande v i l d apels j a panska valnad .
So l rok. So l rok .

·�
I SEE WOMEN

I see women far off.

They are ba thing in the summer-freckl ed l ake .
I hear their cries fra i l as glass
dance over the thin skins o f the water. I see l i ke a
torch o f flowers and a sain t ' s shout
the praise o f their white n akedn e s s
ri sing t hrough the Japanese g h o s t of a b l o s soming
wildapple tree.
Sunsmok e . S unsmoke .

15
NAMNLOST

U nders a m t ar a t t o m vi n tern dansa pa i sen­

och a t t bara m i n net av blossen
so m for l a nge sed a n l yste oss
d a de svangde av och an i v i n den fran norr .

Det hande ocksa s m a t ing s o m fo ljde med .

Sparksto t ten brackte s i t t spi nkiga ben
o ch.pa zinkgraa i sen vi rv l ade vi run t som
matsackskorgar i sno .

Clary- du o ch j ag .
V i sutto i nne i det snoiga strandsnaret,
vi ki ssade i snon
o ch skra t t ade darat, som barn gora.
Det var nod vin ter, med rach i t i s ,
o c h epidemi ern a gi ngo kri ng sj o n .

C l a ry- du med d i n a fracka, va ckra ogon­

du dog innan du fat t d i n a bro s t .

16
NO NAME FOR IT

I t's marvelous in winter to d ance on the i ce­

and to carry memories of the to rches
that threw l ight on u s so long ago
as they swayed b a ck and fo rth in the north wind .

And other insignifi cant things happened at the s ame

time.
The kicksled broke a thin leg
and we ro l led around like food baskets in snow on the
zincgray i ce .

C l ary-you and I .
W e sat down deep i n the snowy bushes b y the shore,
we pissed in the sno w,
and l aughed like mad about i t, as chi l dren d o .
There was a s t arvation winter, with rickets,
and epidemi cs going all around the lake.

C l ary- you had s u ch i mpudent, beautiful eyes­

and you died before your breasts h ad begun to grow.

17
ZIGENARSKRAIT

Ta l tet, seglet, den v i t a h imlen

och d i t t brost s b l eka d ruva;
med sadana syner b l ev j ag erovrare,
for med karro rnas ben torra hj u l
skram l ande u r d a m mskyn
han mot ljusa Thebe,
h an mot morka Trondhj em;
d a r spadde vi i po rs l i nskoppen
och h anderna
frack t och franvarande
med an vara sj a lar s a m m a kva l l reste b l an d
an t i podern a .

IS
GYPSY LAUGH

The tent, the s a i l, the white sky

and the pale grape o f yo ur brea s t :
visions l i ke t h i s made me a conqu i s tador,
I drove off with chariot wheels dry as bones
rattl ing out of the d u s t cloud
going toward snowwhit e Thebes,
go i ng toward b l a ck Trondhei m :
there w e read the future i n a teacup
and i n hands
recklessly and ab sent ly
while our souls the same n ight were traveli ng o n the
other side of the worl d .

19
PA KONGO

Vart fartyg "H avss medj a n " g i ra de ur

passad en
och krop uppat Kongofloden.
L i anerna hangde neds lapande pa dacken so m loggar.
Vi mot te Kongos bero mda jarnpra ma r,
dera s heta pla tdack myl l rade av negrer
fran bi flodso mradena .

De sa t te h andern a t i l l mu nnen
II
o ch ropade rna fan t a d ig " pa ett bantuspdik.
Vi g l edo u ndrande och beklamda genom t u nn l ar
av gront
och kocken i sin ka byss tan kte :
"nu skalar j a g pota t i s i det i n re av Kongo ."

O m nattern a g lodde "Havssmedj a n "

med rod a ogon i n i d j u nglerna,
ett djur ro t, en d j u ngelrat ta plu msade i floden,
en h i rsmortel hostade vasst
och en tru m ma kl ang dovt nagon stans fran en by dar
gu m m i neg rer levd e si tt s l a v l i v .

20
ON THE CONG O

Our ship, the Sea S mithy, swerved out of the

tradewin d s
a n d beg an to creep up the Congo River .
Vines trailed along the deck l ike ropes .
We m e t t h e famou s i ron b arges of the Congo,
whose hot steeldecks swarmed with negroes fro m the
tributaries .

They put their hand s to their mouths

and shouted, uG o to hell" i n a B antu l angu age.
We s l id marveling and depressed th rough the tunnel s
of vegetation
and cook in his galley thought :
unow I am p eeling potatoes in the middle o f t he
II
C ongo .

A t night the S e a S m i thy

goggled with its red eyes into the j u ngle,
an ani mal roared, a j ungl e rat plopped i nto the water,
a mil let mortar coughed sharply,
and a drum was beating softly i n a village so mewhere
wh� re the rubber negroes were going on wi th
thei r slave lives .

21
BOMULL

Den d agen da de spant kabeln fran A meri ka ti l l E u ropa

sj ongo de mycket.
K abel n, den s tora sj u ngande kabeln togs i bru k
och Eu ropa sade t i l l A meri k a :
G e m i g tre m i l l ioner ton bom u l l !
Och tre m i l lioner ton bom u l l vandrade over havet
och blev ti l l tyger :
tyger varmed man tj u sade Senega mbi ens v i l d a r,
o ch bo mu l l skru tet, varmed m a n dod ade de m .
Sj ung hogt, sjung hogt
pa a l i a senega mbi ska trader !
om bomu l l !
om bomull !

Bo mul l , bo mu l l , d i t t snofa l l over j o rden !

d i n vi ta fri d t i l l vara svepn i ng a r !
d i n a v i t a fot s i d a klader d a vi vandra i n i h i mmelen
fra lsta av Boo t h s j esu sansikte i a l i a varl d shamnar.
Bom u l l , bo mu l l , d i t t sno fa l l :
svepande varlden i ny nod to rfts fa l l
ho l j de d u oss, skymde du var b l i ck med di tt mo l n .
V i d myn n i ngen av M a rknadsfloden,
pa alia markn ad ers och bytens vida hav,
mot te vi , bomull , bomull,
din boljas laga r,
din bi1ljas hot .

.,.,
--
COlTON

The day they strung the cable fro m Ameri ca to Europe

they did a lot of singing .
The cab le, the huge singing cable was put in use
and Europe said to A merica :
G ive me three million tons o f co tton !
And three million tons of co tton wandered over the
o ce an
and turned to cloth :
cloth with wh i ch one fascin a ted the savages of
S eneg ambi a,
and cotton wads, with whi ch one kil led the m .
R a i s e your voi ce in song, sing
on all the S enegambic trading routes !
sing cotton !
co tton !

Yes, co tton, your descent on the earth like sno w !

Your white peace for our dead bodies !
Your white anklelength gowns when we wan der into
heaven
saved in all the world' s harbors by Booth ' s Jesus-like
fa ce .
Cotton, cotton, your snowfall :
wrapping the world i n the fu r of new neces si ties,
you shut us in, you bl inded our eyes with your clou d .
At the mouth o f the Trade R iver,
and on the wide o ceans of markets and fairs,
cotton, we have met there
the laws of your flood,
the threat of your flood .

23
LANDSKAP

En bro av s ten i l u m migt l a n d .

E n gosse da r . H an ser hur floden giu.
Och la ngre bort : en hast, med sol en pa s i n rygg .
H a n dri cker tyst,
hans man gar ner i v a t tnet
so m i n d i anens har .
LANDSCAPE

A s tone bridge in a woody p l a ce .

A boy ther e . H e watches the river move.
And farther off: a hor s e, with the sun on i t s back.
He drinks s i l en tly,
his mane fal l s into the water
l i ke an Indian's hai r .

25
SKAPELSENA IT

V i d sten bron mat tes v i ,

bjorkarna hol lo vakt,
an b l an k so m a len slank mo t have t .
V i s l i ngrade o s s s a m m a n fo r a t t gora G ud ,
suset g i ck i hostsad
och ragen s ko t ut en bo lj a .
CREATION NIGHT

We met on the stone bridge,

the bir ches stood watch for us,
the river gleaming like an eel wound to ward the sea .
We twisted together in order to create God,
there was a ru stling in the grain,
and a wave shot ou t of the rye .

27
MARSKVALL

Varvi nterafton och to .

Poj karn a ha t a n t en snolykta .
For den som for forbi i rassl ande kva l l staget
ska l l den sta so m et t rot t minne i t i dernas gra,
ropande, ropande u r ri siga skogar i to .
O ch a l d rig kom resan den hem,
men i lykta och stund l ag hans l i v .
MARCH EVENING

Win terspring, nightfa l l, thawing.

Boys have lit a cand le in a sno wball house .
For the man in the evening train that rattles pa st,
it is a red memory surrounded by gray time,
calling, cal ling, out of stark woods j u st waking up.
And the man who was traveling never go t home,
his life stayed behind, hel d by that l antern and that
hour .

29
BREV FRAN EN BOSKAPSBA T

Vi mot te Ogden A rmou rs l u s tj akt

pa hoj dern a av B al ea rern a .
Han a r so m bekan t va r reda re­
ager fern svi nsla kterier i C h icago
och atta oxsl a k terier vid L a P l a t a .
H a n satte tu ben t i l l oga t o c h s a d e hel t s a kert :
-A, fan ! Det ar j u m i n g a m l a boskapsbat C h a t t anoga .

Vi sankte flaggan och a l i a oxarn a s a t te i att bo l a

l i kt tusen hesa si rener over d et andlosa havet .
Det lat nastan bek l a m ma nde,
och j ag v a r boj d a t t ka l l a a l l ts a m m a n s : ko ttets lov.

E fter detta fi ck vi en svar storm,

och ox a rna, v i l ka so m bekan t ha fyra magar,
ledo svart a v sjosj u ka n .
LEITER FROM A CA TILEBOA T

I n the la titude o f the B a leari c I s lands

we sig hted Ogden A rmour's yach t .
T h i s cargo s h i p is p art of hi s fleet, as you know,
he has five sl aughterhouses in Chi cago,
and eight packing plants near LaPl a t a .
H e put hi s teles cope to his eye a n d n o d o u b t sai d,
"Oh Christ ! It's nothing bu t my old ca ttlebo at, the
Ch attanooga."

We dipped the flag and all the cows started i n mooing

like a tho u s and hoarse sirens over the endless o cean .
I t was depressing,
and I fel t l i ke writing the whole thing o ff as : flesh
praising fles h .

Shortly aft er w e hit a heavy storm

and the co ws, that have four stomachs, as you kno w,
had a bad time with seasicknes s .

31
fro m

NATUR (Natu re) 1934

PASSADER (Winds of Passage) 1945

CIKADA (Cicada) 1958

DIKTER OM LJUS OCH MORKER

. .

(Poems on Ligh t and Da rk) 1971

HOST

Lan d s kapet framstar med hastar

och h ard kn u t n a ploj are so m se emot h avet .
Plogen gor hostens fo rs ta svarta repa i den gu l a
sadesstubben
vidgar si t t morgo n s kar t i l l en d agens morka
kvad rat,
so m blir s torre o ch storre, t i l l s de hol j s i
skym n i ngen ,
sval ler med s i t t morker i n i n a t ten .

J.a
FALL

The fields co me to ward u s with ho rses

and tough-j awed ploug hmen who look toward the
o cean .
The plow s l i ce s the first b and o f b l ack in the yel l o w
fal l s t ubble,
widens i t s morning s trip to the d a y's rectang l e,
which widens and widens until i t merges w i th
the dusk,
opens with i t s d arkness into night .

35
BJORKEN OCH BARNET

S vaghet har byggt pa styrka m i t t barn;

och styrkan har spel a t med svaga .
I dag ska l l du smeka m i n n a ver;
i morgon ska l l d u h a aga .

Langt bort i d e varnlosa aren ,

sa helt u t a n kold el ler hetta,
stod und rande bot tenlost oga
i n a t ten och grat over det t a .
THE BIRCH AND THE CHILD

Wea kness has bui lt i tself up on s treng th, my boy,

and streng th has played ga mes with the wea k .
Today you w i l l p a t my b ark,
tomorrow you will be beaten.

Far off in the defenseless years,

so ut terly without heat or col d ,
an endlessly deep wondering e y e s t o o d t here
in the night and wep t over t hi s .

37
KRAFT

l ngenj oren s i t ter vid h j u let

och laser i j u n i kval l .
K ra ftverket m u m l a r i n atvant i turbi nern a ,
dess l u m migt i nbadd ade hjarta s lar l ugn t o ch stark t .
Loven skalva ej ens
i den stora vi t a bj orken som s tar b l yg vid
betongd a m mens kal l a .
l ge l kotten gar snaskande langs flod en .

B rovaktens k a t t lyss n a r hung rigt t i l l fagel sangen .

Den i l s n abba tysta kraften s i ssar l angt i hundra m i la
tra d a r
i n nan den bu l l ras t i l l i skrytsa m m a stader.
POWER

The eng ineer s i ts by the big wheel,

all through the June night, re ading.
The power s t ation mumbles in troverted in the turbines,
its leafy, embedded heart beats calm and strong .
The timid birch stands tall b y the co n crete mou th of
the dam ;
no t a leaf quivers .
The hedgehog s lobbers a long the river b ank .

The guard ' s cat listens hungrily to birdsong .

And the power whistles away along a hundred miles
of wire
befo re it suddenly rumbles down into the b r agg art
cities .

39
HAVSVINDEN

O ver and losa o ceaner fra mgu ngar havsvi nden­

breder ut s i n a vingar i nat ten o ch d agen,
hojer och sanker sig
over de eviga h avens ods liga gungande gol v .
Det n a l kas morgonen
el ler det na lkas a ftonen
o ch h avsvinden kanner i s i t t ansi kte- lan d v i nd en .

K lockboj arn a tona mo rgon o c h afton sanger,

en kolangares rok
e l l er en fen i cisk beckelds rok dunstar v i d horisonterna,
ensam manet gungar med blalysande ro tter t i d los
omkring .
Det na lkas a fton el ler morgon .

40
THE SEA WIND

Th e sea wind sways on over the endless o ceans­

spreads its wings night and day
rises and s inks ag ain
over the desolate swaying floor o f t he immo rtal o cean .
Now i t i s nearly morning
or it i s nearly evening
and the o ce an wind feels in i ts fa ce-the l an d wind .

Clo ckbuoys to l l morning and evening p s a l ms,

the smoke of a co albo at
o r t he s mo ke of a t ar-burning phoenici an s hip fades
away at the horizon s .
T h e lonely j ellyfis h w h o h a s n o hi st ory ro cks aroun d
with burning blue feet .
It 's nearly evening n o w or morning .

41
fran PASSADER

K a p Verdevi n den tog de vi l seseglade.

Likt lov som fa ra u t o ch d ragas med
d rogs skeppen in och fordes bort a l i t Uingre
som i en oavl a t l ig flod av vi n d .

Sa vaxte varl dens v a i d en .

Och dessa v i n d ar k a l l ades pass ader,

s n a rt ka l l ades d e : Trade w i nd s : handelns vi ndar .
I deras banor t j a n t e sjoman under kop m a n
s o m h a d e fu n n i t m a n s k an s l angtan v a r a god
a t t frakta va ro r med fra n Cal i cu t .

8
A v ibererna k a l l ades passa d h a vet Da mern a s hav :
el G o l fo de las Da m a s .
O i t ut forde de d a merna t i l l d a n s .
Pa detta s a t t seg l ade de t i l l N ya varld en .

Deras skepp hade s t a t l iga n a mn .

N a mn a v en tid som var ha vsru s i g :
N uestra Senora de I a E n carn acion Deseng an a .
N uest ra M adre d e l caba Do ng a .

42
from THE WINDS O F PASSAG E

7
The wind off C ape Verde took the s tray ships w i th i t .
Like leaves t h a t fl o a t ou t a n d are pulled along
the ships were pu lled along and carried s t i l l further
away
as i f on a continuous river o f wind .

So the empires of the worl d i n creased .

And these winds were known as The Winds of P as s ag e ;

soon they were called : the Trade Win d s .
A lo ng those tracks t h e seamen served under the
businessmen
who had dis covered that the longings of mankind were
u seful
in getting things brou ght b a ck fro m C a l i cu t .

8
The old I berians ca lled the Wind Passage rou te
The G u l f of Women : el G olfo de l a s Da ma s .
They led their ladies o n i t t o dance .
That is h o w they sai led t o the New Worl d .

Their ships h a d marvelous na mes ,

out of a sea -cra zy age :
Nuestra Senora de Ia Encarnacion Desengana .
Nuestra Ma dre del caba Donga .

43
Och de bugade for sina skepp som for d arner
pa varldsdansens go lv,
pa el G o l fo de l as Damas.
Och de forde dem u t t i l l dans pa A nt i l l i ska gangen,
passaden s vag .

De nyupptack t a oarn a vaxte i a n ta l .

N u fi nns det i nga oupptackta o a r mer .

Vart g a r nu h a vet so m a nn u s t a r redo

med j amna och forande vi ndar
pa A n t i l lernas v i ndgang?
Lyfta pa kom fo rtens vinge av fartens dj i nner
skal l a l l tfler se ner pa det overvun n a avstandets hav.

Och varlden s ka l l l angsa mt forlora sig sj a l v

n a r d e n berovat s i g sj a l v
odsl ighetens kraft
och odsl ighetens a ven tyr.

A l i t det som fj arran var

ska l l bli la ttfa nget och not t .
Exot iana sj unker o c h dor
so m et t sista A t l a n t i s,
so m ett ned sankt Gondwana l and .

Da ska man skorn a ropa efter ett forlorat fj arran.

De ska ropa efter nya varld ar.
De ska ropa efter ett stj arno rnas V i rg i n ien .
M e n bun d na t i ll jorden ska de flyga i ringar,
li kt faglar som m i stat s i n n i lflod i Afrikas h jar t a,
si t t va ssri ka fjarrtrask v i d jen i sej .

44
And they bo wed to their ships as to ladies,
on the d ancing floor of the world,
on el G olfo de las Damas .
And they took them to dance in the Antilles pass age,
the wind-route.

9
The newly discovered i s l ands grew i n number.
Now there are no more undi scovered i s l and s .

What can the sea give now still ready

wi th its steady and driving winds
on the Antilles wind-ro ad ?
Lifted on the winds o f co mfort by the dj inn of speed
more and more humans look down at the o cean of
conq uered d istance .

A n d t h e world will gradually lose i t s self

wh en i t has t aken fro m itself
the power o f desolate wi ldness,
and the adventure of desolate wildnes s .

Everything t h a t w a s far off

sh all become easy to get and wo rn o u t .
Exot i an a will sink a n d d i e
l i ke a l a s t A tl antis,
like a submerged G ondwanalan d .

Then mankind s h all cry for a l o s t far-off.

They shall cry for new world s .
They sh all cry for s o me Virgini a in the stars.
B ut tied to earth they will fly around in cir cles,
l ike birds who've lost their Nile deep in A fri ca,
their reed-ri ch far off m arsh at Jeni sej .

45
KV ALL I INLANDET

Tys t gatan speg l a s . Den spinner a fton

i s t i l lnad sav.
Har fi nns en ski rhet som i ngen marker
i grasets vav.

Tyst boskap s t i rrar med grona ogo n .

Den vandrar kval ls lugn t i l l vattnet ned .
Och i nsjon ha lter t i l l a l l a munnar
si n j a t tesked .
DUSK IN THE COUNTRY

The riddle silently sees its i mage . I t spins evening

among the motionless reeds .
There i s a frailty n o one noti ces
there, in the web of gra s s .

Silent cattle stare w i t h green eye s .

They mosey in evening c a l m down to the water.
A nd the l ake holds its i mmense spoon
up to all the mouths.

47
GUDINNAN AV HYN

Vad ska l l hon heta, kvi nnan dar pa s tranden ?

Hon so m ar offer for sin egen skon het,
och fo r smi ckrets gyl lene spi ndelvav.
K anske G u d i nnan av hyn .

N ar hon visat sig for s i n a t i l l bedj a re

giu hon hem t i ll s i t t a l t a re spegeln,
for a t t t i l lbed j a sig sj a l v i hyvarden s tempel .

G envagen t a r hon over kyrkogard en .

Dar kan hon i forbi farten speg l a sig i hel figur
i b l a nka vard ar.

48
THE GODDESS O F SKIN

What shall we call that woman on the beach ?

Who i s a victim of her own b eauty,
and the gleamy spiderweb o f flattery.
Perh aps the goddess o f ski n .

When s h e has shown herself t o her worshippers,

she return s to her altar-mirror,
to worship herself in the temple of skin-care.

She takes a s hort cut through the cemetery .

A s she goes by she can see herself full length
in the polished stones .

49
MANDIKT

Dro m m arna s end a u t fartsvag,

man s t ri m ma n u tat fran l a n d ,
s j o n k e n gryn i n g t y s t och skramd
i nod to rftens k a l l a h a v .

Denn a m a n s t i g av g l i t ters i lver

so m han med henne sa o ft a satt v i d ,
v i l a r nu sj u nken t u ng s o m grus
pa havets bo t ten, Pater nosters ku s t .

Stugan granar s o m deras h ar

for havets o t ro t t l iga v i n d a r .
B red a s tormar anda fran O rkney
sopa pa kyrkogarden .

50
MOON POEM

The only way for dreams to get out,

the moon road ou t from land,
sank one dawn s i lent and afraid
into the cold sea of poverty.

Thi s moon path of s hin ing si lver

they had s at beside so often
no w presses heavy as gravel
on the bottom of the sea off Pater Noster's rock s .

L i k e their hair the house h a s turn ed gray

in the inexhaustible sea wind .
G reat storms all the way fro m the O rkn ey s
a r e sweeping the cemetery.

51
DAGGMASKEN

v em vordar dagg masken,

odlaren d j u p t under gra sen i j ordens mu l l .
H a n h a l ler jorden i forva nd l i ng .
H an arbetar h e l t fyl ld av mul l ,
s tu m av m u l l o ch bl i nd .

H an ar den undre, den ned re bonden

dar akrarn a k l adas t i l l s kord .
Vern vord ar hono m,
den dj upe, den l ug ne o d l a ren,
den evige gra l i l le bonden i j ordens mul l .

52
THE EARTHWORM

Who really respect s the earthworm,

the farmworker far under the grass in the soi l .
He keeps the e arth alw ays chang i ng .
H e works entirely ful l o f soil,
speechless with soil, and blind .

H e i s the underneath farmer, the underground one,

where the fields are getting on their h arvest clothes .
Who really re spe ct s him,
this deep and calm earth-worker,
this deathless, gray, t iny farmer in the pl anet's soi l .

53
fran HADES OCH EUKLIDES
( forsta versi onen )

N a r Eukl i des sku l l e uppmata H ad es

fa nn han a t t det saknade d j u p och hoj d .
De moner p l a t t are an rockor
rasade pa dodss l a t ten,
lopte med eko losa hundska l l
l angs eld l i n j er och isl i nj er,
l angs med uppdragna l i n j er i H ades .

Utmed l inj er so m bro t s

men aterko m so m l i n j er
g i ck l inj eflo ck efter l i nj eflock av demoner i bred d , i fo l j d
och paral le l l t geno m H ades.

Vagor fanns i nga, ej hoj der, ej djup eller d a lar.

Endast l i n j er, para l l e l l a forlopp, l iggande vi nklar.
Demoner g i ck fram l ikt e l l i p t i ska p l a t to r;
kladde en and los mark so m med vand rande drakfj a l l i
H ades .

Pa u t j a m n ade gravfa l t d ar glomskan harj a t med sin

pl a t t het
kra l a de ormar- sj a l v bar a grovre l i n jer :
skyn dade, kralade, stu ngo
l a ngs )()pa nde l i njer.
from HADES AND EUCLID
(first version)

When Euclid started out to mea sure Hades,

he found it had neither depth nor height.
Demons flatter than stingrays
swept above the plains of death,
thei r barks had no e choes a s they r an
along the fire frontiers and the i ce frontiers,
along the l ines laid down in H ades.

Along the lines that fel l apart

and j oined again as l i nes
flo ck after flock of demons went abreast in ranks, and
parallel through H ades .

There were only w aves, no hil ls, no ch asms or valleys .

Only lines, parallel h appening s , angles lying prone.
Demons shot along like e l l ipt i cal pl a tes ;
they covered an endless field i n H ades a s though with
moving drago n s cales .

On the s moothed-over burial mounds that forgetfulness

had destroyed with its fl atness,
snakes were crawling-t hey were merely heavy l ines :
l ashed, crawl ed, stung their way
along the flowing line s .

55
En d anande grasbra n d i rasande flackflykt ,
fo r u t med m a rken so m e n h yvel av eld .
Den for pa ond a prdrier, pa onda st apper, fl ack ond
pusta,
fra m och ater, a l l t i d tand pa nyt t
av het tan pa fla ck a s l a t t er i H ades .

II

Laga l ag helvetets ugnar

pa den flacka slat ten .
Dar b randes i tegel ru m men
- ytl igt so m i dod as gravar­
de god tyck l igt do mda,
den flacka ondska ns o ffer,
utan trosten fran en hoj d
u t an stod fran d j u pen,
bemotta utan vard i ghet,
bemo t t a u tan resn i ng,
bemo t t a utan mat ten av evighet.
Deras klagan mat tes blott av han
pa ondska n s fl a cka s l a t t .

Och Eu klides, mat tens konung, grat

och skr i et sokte sfa rens gud, Kro n i den .

56
A raging gra ssfire in roaring fla tflight
rushed over the ground like a carpen ter's plane of fire .
I t shot over the evi l prairies, over t he evi l steppes, over
the flat evi l pusta
back and forth, ignited again and again by heat
on the flat fields in H ades .

II

The ovens of Hell lay clo s e to the ground

on the fl at fields.
There the capri ciously d amned were burned
in the bri ck roo m s-
near the surfa ce a s graves are­
victim s of fl at evi l,
wi th no co mfort fro m a high p l ace
or support from a low p l a ce,
received without digni ty,
received without a rising,
re ceived wi thout any of the standards of eternity.
Their cries are met only by mo ckery
on the flat fields of evi l .

And Eucl i d , the king o f measurem ent, cried

and his cry went looking for Kronus, the god of spheres .

57
MU LTNANDE STUGA

De v i t a hund lokorn a med s i t t ski ra blomflor

blev odestug ans sista gard iner.
Det ryggbru tna taket har fa l l i t i n i huse t .
S t i gen a r bara e t t b and a v grasmark dar i ngen l angre
ko m mer.
M en enbusken och stenen ha flyttat na rmare va randra .
De ska g i fta sig o m hund ra a r.

58
OLD FARMHOUSE

The frail blosso ms of the goat chevri l

are the last curtains this house will ever have .
The roof- back broken- has dropped into the wa l l s .
The path is j u s t grass where n o o n e arri ve s .
But the j uniper bush and the stone have moved clo ser.
I n a hundred years t hey will m arry .

59
HONSHUS

H onsen gar t i digt i n fran d agen s plock.

De ror sig nagra varv pa honsh usets gol v
och ordnar s i g efter favorer .
Forst nar detta ar k l art
ko m mer u pp hoppen t i l l somnstangen .
Snar t s i t ter a l i a i rad och t uppen ar dar.
Han provso mnar i b l a nd
men det b l i r i n t e nago n ro genas t .
Honorna trycker sid l eds och besvarar.
Han maste ra tta t i l l dem, med nabben och ett kackel .
Oct j a mkas och ord n a s .
En av honorn a forsoker m i n n a s d e n m ask
hon fangade senast .
M en min net ar red a n undansj u n ket,
pa vag geno m krava n .
En annan h o n a m i nns t yd l igt hur t uppen var
i nnan hon so mn a r i n , l i te h i m l ande
med s l u tarl i ka ogonlock stangande for varlden .

bO
HENHOUSE

The hen s drift in early fro m the d ay's pecking .

They t ake a few turns abou t the h enhouse floor
and arrange themselves a ccording to w ho ' s the
favorite.
Then, when all that i s cl ear,
the leaping up to the roost begin s .
Soon they're all sitting in rows a n d t h e roo s ter i s
presen t .
H e tests o u t sleep
but there is to be no s leep right away.
The hens s hove to t he side and cau se trouble.
H e has to s traighten them out, with his beak and a
cawkle.
Now it's shift ing and settl ing down.
One o f the hens tries to remember the last worm
she caught today .
B u t the memory i s already gone down,
on its way through the crop.
Another hen, j us t befo re she fal l s asleep, re calls
the way the rooster looked, the whi te o f her eyeballs
fluttering,
her shutterlike lids closing out the world .

61
BERGET I SKOG EN

Tva poj kar fran byn

gav sig en hostdag u pp pa skogen
for a t t befria en bon d flicka
som hade b livit bergtagen .
De fan n det l aga skogsberget
och bu l t ade pa stendorren
i hopp om a t t trol let hade gat t u t for a t t ata b ar.

Men trol let var hem m a

och kom sj a l v och oppn ade.
Ni soker flickan forstas, sade trol let.
M en hon ar in te hem m a .
Hon har gat t u t for a t t plocka b ar .
Vi ska ha lingonkok.

Poj karn a undrade om vaderstrecket .

Det a r darat, pekade trol let .
Poj karn a t a ckade for upplysningen
o ch gick at utvisa t h a l l .
Dar fan n d e bond flickan
men hon kande inte igen dem .

Hon v i l le inte heller bli stord i barplockningen, s a hon .

Och vad vet jag o m er.
N i sku l le j u kunna fo rv and a synen pa mej .
THE HILL IN THE WOODS

Two boys from town

walked out in the woods one fa ll day
to res cue a farm girl
whom the weird people h ad sto len .
They fo und the ro ck mountain in the wo ods
and kno cked at the s tone door
hoping the troll was out so mewhere p i cking
l ingonberries.

B u t the tro l l was at ho me,

and came to the door himself.
"I guess you're looking fo r the g irl, " the troll s ai d .
"But she's n o t at ho me.
S he's gone out to pick lingonberri es .
We're going to h ave some lingonberry s au ce . "

The boys wondered what direction that would b e .

"I t's off there, " a n d t h e troll pointed .
The boys thanked h i m for the info rmation
and set off i n that direction .
They found the country girl all right
bu t she didn't recognize the m .

She wasn't t o o wild about being interrupted pi cking

either, she said .
And how do I know about you .
M aybe you could j u s t ch ange the whole way I see thing s .

63
Da forstod poj karna a t t hon redan hade vant sig,
a t t hon hade b l ivi t forvand med d e nya ti ngen
i stal let fo r forvand av dem.
M en de ville a n d a forsoka a t t fa henn e med .
Da blev hon arg pa a llvar och gav dem ett kok s tryk.
Hon var bergst a rk .

Val hemkomna namnde d e i ngen ting ti l l fora ldra rna

men at tyst s i n vat tgro t .
De kande ocksa p a sig
att bygden nu i nte so m forr
brydde sig om trol l e l ler bergtagna .

Detta och mycket a nn a t fol l dem fore

n ar de annu uppskramda bet i sina trasked ar.
De tecknade sedvan l igt med fottema
-
t i l l varandra under bordet och at vid are .
M j o l ken var g a l len.
Den bru ka r b l i sa vid askvader
e l ler nar nago t hander av tro l lmakt.
The boys understood then that she had got ten into
the spell .
S he hadn't been changed b y the o th er world s o mu ch
as she'd picked up bad habi ts .
But they sti l l wanted to ge t her to come along .
Then she rea l ly got angry and worked the m over.
She was stone-strong all right .

S afely home they didn't s ay a wo rd to their p arents,

and ate their mush in si lence .
They realized also that the people around here
were not i nterested, as they u s ed to be,
in trolls and people stolen .

Thi s and many other thoughts moved in their min d s

while they bit sti l l fri ghtened on their wooden spoon s .
They sign aled t o one another under the t abl e
with their feet a s usual and wen t on eating .
'
The milk was turn ing .
That usually happens when there are thunderstorms
or when someone has been working wi th troll power.

65
 . .

GUNNAR EKELOF
G unnar Ekelof i s an enti rely different kettle of fi s h . I n
Ekelof w e see t h e intellectual, oblique, arrogant,
nervou s, wi tty poet of the centers of civiliz ation, a sort
of poet known in all western cou ntries . He rea ched out
early i n his career to two sources outside t he S candina­
vian tradi tion : to the mysti cal poetry of Pers i a in parti c­
ul ar, and the Ori ent i n general, and to French poetry,
especially the surrealis t poetry of the l ate twenties . H i s
poetry h as deep roots also i n Froding, A l mqvist, and
the S wed i sh fairy t ales .
I n Swedish l i terature there i s a mu ch firmer divi sion
between "country" and " city" writing than there is in
A meri ca or Englan d . There has b een a succession of
great writers in S weden who h ave t aken their pl aces
naturally i n one of the two groups, M artinson in the
first group, Ekelof very clearly in the second, and he is a
supreme example o f the greatnes s possible in that
tradition.
Some of G unnar Ekelof' s poems are made of l inked
successions of thoughts not easy to follow. These subtle
thoughts are embodied in high-spirited and e ccentric
langu age. G unnar Ekelof is the most diffi cu l t of the great
Swedish poets ; yet his audience i s very large . His books
of poems w�re pub l ished in edi tions compa rable, given
the difference in popula tion, to pri ntings of 200,000 in
the United St ates . H e i s an uncomfortable poet; he tries
to make the re ader conscious of l ies, and of the unstab l e
a n d shifty nature of hum an perception .
H i s poems float along like souls above the border
between relig ion and witch craft .
We find h i m urging the reader t o "give up power "
. . . admoni tions like those in Persi an mystics o r in the
Taoists. And i t i s clear Ekelof understands very well the

69
E a s t e rn " fl a vo r o f t h e i n fi n i t e . " H i s po e t r y i s co n s t a n t l y
t ry i n g t o h i n t t o t h e r e a d e r t h e l o c a t i o n o f t h e ro a d
t o w a rd t h a t t r a n s p a re n t s t a te o f b e i ng t h e E a s t er n e r s
t a l k o f.
H e never s t a r t s o ff d o w n a ro a d w i t h ou t l oo k i ng
b a ck t o see w h ere t h e o t h e r h u m a n be i n g s a re, a n d
w h e t h e r he m i g h t n ' t b e o n a ro a d t o o n a r ro w fo r fa t
peo p l e to fo l l o w h i m . Ye t a t t i mes h e vee rs o ff m i s ­
c h i evo u s l y i n t o a s i d e p a t h t h a t is t o o n a rro w , a n d w h e n
h e l o o k s b a c k t h i s t i m e, j u s t l a ug h s . H i s p o e m s a re
ma rve l o u s l y i n t e l l i ge n t - t h e i n t e l l i g e n ce i s a vv a ke a l l
t h ro u g h t h e poe m , cu t t i ng a w a y n o n se n s e t o e a ch s i d e
o f t h e s t a n z a , l i ke a s w i ft s t e e l fl a k e t h i n a s go l d l ea f,
cu t t i n g a w a y s o ft a n d p u l py eg o i s m , a s S w i ft d o es , i f
S w i ft h a d been a g l i d e r i n s t e a d o f a n ea r t h - mo v i ng
m a c h i n e . He c u t s a wa y ego i s m , beca u s e he k n o w s t h a t
i f a Wes t e r n e r ca n cu t d o wn h i s p r i d e i n h i s \ve i l - fed
ego , h i s s m u g n e s s a t be i n g " d y n a m i c, " h i s se l f-es t ee m a t
h i s wo n d e r fu l l y so l i d bod y - i f t he s e se l f- co n t e n t m e n t s
ca n b e s we p t o ff a nd a ba n d o n ed , h e s t a n d s s o m e c h a n ce
o f e x p e r i en c i n g t h e fl o a t i n g s t a t e t h e E a s t ern m ed i t a t o rs
v a l u e so m u c h . W h e n h e ex pe r i e n ces t h a t m e n t a l fl o a t ­
i ng, the Wes t e r n e r u n d e rs t a n d s that empti ness ts
h e a v i e r t h a n we i g h t , t h a t o n e ca n sec o n l y a t n i g h t :

J\ ., k fo r .1 fi l ll' r for a l l t h o .,l' t h i n g ., t h .1 t o, c p .u .l t l' u ., fro m

c .1e h o t h e r
,1 fi l t e r fo r l i fe
Yo u " ·' Y y o u c .1 n h .ud l y b r e .1 t h c i'
\'V e i l , w h o d o y o u t h i n k Cl l l l b n· .1 t h e !
r o r t h e lll O <, t p . u t We t .1 k e i t h o w e Vl' r w i t h l' q U ,ln i m i t y
A w i ., e 111 .1 11 h ,, ., ., ,, i d :
" I t w ,, ., ., o J . u k I co u l d b .Hl· l y "l'l' t h e .... t .H � "
l i e nw.w t ., a m p l y t h ,1 t i t \'\' ,1 ., m � h t

70
H i s work makes an el aborate intro duction to the Ta o Te
Ch ing.
A t the same ti me, curious i m ages slip into Ekelof' s
poems fro m the North. These o ther images have risen
fro m the heathen S wedish ground, fro m o l d Finni sh
swamps and that part of the Northern uncon s cious still
obsessed by shaman hallucinatio ns, changing of bodies,
journeys of soul s during tran ce .
E kelof' s poem s are like a spi der web strung between
these two enormous trunk s .

Robert B l y

Other Ekelof Books in Engl i sh :

Sel ected Poems o f G u nnar E kelof, translat ed by Muriel Rukeyser

and Leif Sjoberg (New York : Twayne Pub lishers, 1 96 7 ) , a
general sel ection.
I Do B est A lone at Nigh t, poems by Gunnar Eke lof, translat ed by
Robert Bly with Christina Pauls ton (Washing ton, D . C. :
The Charioteer Press, 1 9 6 8 ) , out of print .
Selected Poems by G u nnar E kel o f, translated by W. H. Auden
and Leif Sjoberg ( New York : Pantheon Books, 1 9 7 2) .
This book is somewha t mist i t l ed ; it includes poems only
from two very late books, of the Byzantium tri logy.

71
from

S ENT PA J O RDE N (La te A rriva l o n Ea rth )

1932

DEDIKA TI ON (Dedication) 1934

S O RG EN O C H S TJA RNAN
. .

(G rief a n d Stars) 1936

FA RJE SANG (Ferryman 's S ong) 1941

NON S E RVIA M (No n Servia m) 1945

0

S E NT PA J O RDEN M ED
APPE ND I X 1 9 6 2
(Late A rrival o n Earth , w ith A dditi o n s 1962)
118LOMMORNA SOVER I FONSTRET OCH
LAM P AN STIRRAR LJUS11

b l o m morna sover i fonstret o ch l a mpan s ti rrar l j u s

o c h fons tret s t i rra r tanklost u t i morkre t u t anfor
tavlorna vi s a r sp i l lost s i t t anfortrodda inneh a l l
o c h flugorna s t a r s t i l l a p a vagga rna och tanker

b l o m morna l u t a r s i g mot na t ten och la mpan

spinner lj u s
i hornet spinner ka tten yl leg a rn a t t sov a med
pa spi sen sna rkar ka ffepa nnan da och da med valbehag
och barnen leker tyst med o rd pa go l vet

det v i t a dukade bordet vantar pa nagon

vars steg a l d ri g ko m mer uppfor t rappan

ett tag so m geno mborrar tystnaden i fj a rr an

a vsloj a r i n te t i ngens heml ighet
men odet rakna r klockans s l ag med deci ma ler.

74
 "THE FLOWERS DOZE IN THE WINDOW AND
THE LAMP GAZES LIG HT"

The flowers doze in the window and the l amp g azes

light
the window gazes with thoughtless eyes out into the
dark
paintings exhibit without soul the thought confided
to them
and houseflies stand still on the walls an d think

the flo wers l ean into the night and the lamp we aves
light
the cat in the corner weaves wo olen yarn to sleep with
on the s tove the coffeepo t snores no w and then wi th
ple asure
' the chi ldren pl ay quietly on the floor with words

the table set with white cloth i s wait ing for someone
whose feet never will come up the s tairs

a train-whistle tunneling through the silence in the

distance
does no t find ou t what the secret o f things i s
but fate counts the s trokes o f the pendu l u m by
deci m a l s

75
OKTOBERSPEGEL

nerverna gnisslar s t i l l a i skym n ingen

so m fl yter genom fon stret gra t t och s akt a
de rod a blo m mo rna varker sti l l a i skymningen
och l a m pan sj u nger ensam i ett horn

tystnaden dri cker det s t i l ls a m m a host regnet

som inte langre gor grodan n ago t go t t
de knappta h a ndern a var mer varandra
de stela b l i ckarna fa lnar i gloden

7b
MIRROR O F OCTO BER

the nerves s creech s i l ently in the dying light

that flows through the window gray and slowly
the red flowers si lently feel their wounds i n the dying
light
and the l a mp sings on lonely in a corner

the si lence drinks t he slow autumn rain

whi ch no longer makes anything good grow
the fo l ded han d s warm each other
the stiff looks fade a mong the live co al s

77
SONATFORM
DENATURERAD PROSA

krossa bokstavlarna mel l a n tanderna gaspa vok a l er ,

el den brinner i helvete krakas och spott a nu eller aldrig
j ag o ch svin del du el ler a l d rig svindel nu el l er a l d rig.
vi borj a r om
krossa bokstavl arna makad a m o ch tanderna gas par
voka ler, svet ten rinner i helvete j ag dor i mina vind­
lingar krakas nu el l er a l d ri g svindel j ag och d u . j ag och
han hon det. vi borj ar om. j ag och han hon det. v i bOrj ar
om. j ag o ch h a n hon det. vi borj ar om . j ag och han hon
det. skrik och rop : det gar fort vilken rasande fart i l u ft
och helvete i min a vind lingar som vansinnet i l u ften
svindel . skrik och ro p : han fa l ler han har fa l lit. det var
bra det gi ck fort v i l ken ra sa nde fa rt i l u ft och hel vete i
m i n a vind linga r kra ka s nu eller a ldrig svin de l jag oc h du.
j ag och han hon det. vi bo rj ar om. j ag och h an hon det.
vi borj ar o m. j ag och han hon det. vi borj a r o m . j ag och
h a n hon det
vi borj a r o m
krossa boks tavl a rna mel lan tanderna gaspa
vo kaler, elden brinner i helvete kraka s och spot ta nu
el ler a l d rig j ag o ch svi ndel du el ler aldrig svindel nu eller
a l d rig .

7S
SONATAFORM
METHYLATED PROSE

crush the alphabet between your teeth yawn vowels,

the fire i s burn ing i n hel l vo mit and spi t no w or never
I and dizziness you or never dizziness now or never .
we will begin over
cru sh the alphabet maca dam and your teeth yawn
vowel s, the sweat runs in hell I am dying in my con­
volutions vo mi t now or n ever dizziness i and you . i and
he she it. we will begin over. i and he she and i t . we will
begin over . i and he s he it. we wi l l begin over . i and h e
s h e i t . s cream and cry : i t g o e s fast w h a t tremendous
speed i n the sky and hell in my convolution s like mad­
ness in the sky dizziness . scream and cry : he i s falling
he has fallen. i t was fine i t went fas t what tremendous
speed in the sky and hel l in my convolutions vo mi t now
or never dizziness i and you . i and he she it. we will
begin over . i and h e s he i t . we will begin over . i and he
she it. we will begin over . i and he she i t .
we wil l begin over
crush the alph abet between your teeth yawn
vowels, the fire is burning in hell vomi t and spi t now
or never i and dizziness you or never dizziness no w or
never .

79
 CHOROS

sa har det a l l t i d vari t sa ska l l det a l l t i d vara

til l dess den sista manskan d rommer eld och al i t
ar slut
t i l l s v i gor u ppror emot a l i t for a t t for i n t a oss
sj a l va
b ryter oss u t u r c i rkel n och avviker fran
verkl igheten
och andas i n s a dj upt att vi forlorar medvetandet
sa d j u p t att hela v i n t ergatan stra l a r i l u ngorna
for att fo rsv i n n a i nordost
med l ugn t a n s ikte
oc

t\0
 CHORUS

it has been this way forever i t will be this way forever

until the las t man dreams fire and the end
has co me
until we revolt against everything in ord er to des troy
ourselves
break out of the circle and turn away from
reali ty
and breathe in so deeply that we faint
so deeply that the whole M ilky Way blazes in our lung s
and then we can d i s appear into the northeast
with a calm face
00

81
" FORLAMAD AV NA TIEN"

for l a mad av na t ten

brottsl ingen
Lange hade han kru p i t geno m det
undermed vetna s ta r m a r t i l l s de mynnade u t i ett
klo tformigt rum over va rs g l a t ta , fukti ga vagga r ett na t
av rod a ad ror sl ingrade s i g .
Jag h ade en o t yd l ig kansl a av a t t befinna mig i
m i t t eget oga so m ater oppnade sig

82
" PARALYZED BY THE NIGHT"

p ar alyzed by the night

the criminal

For a long time he had been crawl ing through

the twisting canal s of the uncon s cious, then they
opened out i n to a sphere-shaped roo m whose walls
were glossy and wet, wi th a network of tiny veins
spread enti rely over the m .

I h ad a confu sed feeling I w a s inside my o wn

eye which was opening again

83
PA NAITEN

E t t oga ru l la r over gol vet , j a g vrider mig ina t .

Darren ar stangda lappa r, l ovet a r tungt a t t bara .
Sakta va xer har och nag lar i n i tystnaden .
Dorrens lappa r a r stangda for omva nda varden .
l ngen blixt a r hemma under drom mens ogonlock,
Men nattens a ska gar i det fordolda .

84
AT NIGHT

An eye rol l s over the floor, I turn inward .

The door i s closed lips, the leaf i s heavy to bea r .
Ha ir and fingernai l s gro w slowly into t h e s ilence .
The door's lips a re closed to reversed value s .
N o l ig htning flash is a t home under the drea m eyeli d s ,
B u t the night' s thu nder i s ro lling i n h i d den place s .

85
DROMD DIKT

Hennes k i n d er ar so m fj a ril svingar o ch det l j usa stoftet

stannar kva r pa i n sid an av min a hander.
Hennes fingrar a r floj t l i ka och h uden so m
parlemo rhin n a n i musslans skote.
B a ra en a s t rolog med toppig mossa sku l l e kunna spa i
hen nes in a lvor som ar fyl l d a med stj a rno r :
I nsvept i fl a m miga m o l n av glit trande stoft och
fladdrande fl i k a r a v tyg l yser den formlosa,
ofu l l s tandiga kroppen fra m u nder so mnens
otyd liga b i n del.
A DREAMT POEM

Her cheeks are li ke butterfly wing s and the pale stuff

stays behind in the inside o f my h ands .
Her fingers are flu te-like and her skin l i ke the mother­
of-pearl cloak in the wo mb of the oys ter .
Only an astro loger with a poin ted hat cou l d read the
fu ture in her insides whi ch are fil l ed with
stars :
Wrapped in leaping clouds o f glowing stuff and
fluttering fringes of clo th the formless
unformed body blazes forth under the
indistinct bindings of s l eep.

87
MANEN

M anen stryker med h anden m i l t over ogonen,

vacker m i g dj upt i nat ten. Ens a m bl and sovande
l agger j ag ved pa gloden, pys s l a r med rykande t ran,
ror mig b land skuggor tyst, skuggor fladdrande hog t
over d e bruna stocka rna , prydda
rikt med b l ankande pi m pel don . . .

Varfor vackte du m ig ? En s a m b l and sovande,

ryggar vand a mot elden, oppn ar j ag dorren tyst,
gar kring knu ten i snon, t ra mpar i tussarna , ser
mansken lockand e ka l l t over sjon . . .
THE MOON

The moon passes her hands softly over my eyes,

wakes me long into the nigh t . Lonesome a mong the
sleepers,
I lay wood on the fire, fu ss abou t with s moking sticks,
move quietly a mong the shadows, shado ws flapping
high
on the bro wn logs, richly
decorated with glis ten ing fish-lures . . .

Why did you wake me ? Loneso me among the sleep ers,

backs turned to the fire, I open the door quietly,
walk around the co rner in the snow, tra mp in my fu r
boots,
moonshine coldly call ing me over the snow . . .

89
VARIATIONER

I konven tionern as s koga r,

d a r gar n agra man i grova b l u s a r
- det kli ngar a v yx hugg i mo rgon l u ft !
Dar a r va rt og a vaket
n a r j a t t a rna vacklar o ch s tort ar.
Dar ar vart a nd etag d j u p t :
Det do ftar s a fri sk t a v de fal l d a traden !
Dar a r det a l l tid gryn i ng !

Herded ro t t n i ng, g a
ti ll a rbets man nen med bra n n v i n i korgen !
Skank deras st yrka ro
i vantan pa badet i dodens a l v !
Ty g ryn i ng och skymn i ng a r ett,
det fi n n s i n te n a t t el ler d ag,
och a l i a tro l l skogens trad ar ett en da,
sta n d i gt detsa m m a .

K a tegorier
De som a n nu kan se att g ra t t a r gratt,
som vet a t t l i vet h a r ett ot a l v a lore r :
A I I a san n i ng a rs och logn ers rel a t i v i tet .
So m i n te so ker efter a l l t i ngs mot s a t s,
so m �i nnu i n te st a l l t s f{)r d u a l i smens freste l se
- rn a dl• f{) r 6vrigt vara o m ed vet et o rd n a d e so m

j �i rnfi l span
i f�i l t l't me II an on t och go tt :
Dl· i ckl· va nl iga, n a t u r l i g a , i nd i fferl•nta.
VARIATIONS
1

I n the fo rests of convention,

some men walk there with rough shirts
- a sound of ax-blo ws in morning ai r !
Each eye i s open th ere
where the giants sway and cra s h .
E a ch breath is deep there :
a wonderful smel l fro m the fallen trees !
There it is always dawn !

Shepherd q u een, go
to the working men and ca rry some brandy in a basket !
G ive their strength peace
as they wai t for the dip in the river of death !
For twilight and d awn are one,
nei ther night nor day ex i sts,
and all the trees of the magic wood are one tree,
the s ame tree alw ays .
2
C a tegories
Those who still can see that gray is gray,
who kno w that life contains an im mense nu mber of
values :
the re lativ i ty o f all tru ths and li es .
Who do not lo ok for the oppo s i te of every thing,
who have not been co nfro nted yet by the tempt ation
of du ali sm
- they may nevertheless be arranged uncon sciously
like iron fi lings
in the fi eld between good and evi l :
Those not ordinary, natural, cool .

91
De so m ser nerver av svart o ch v i t t i a l i t det a ndlosa
gra,
so m tv i ngas att standigt pa nyt t
konstat era, uppleva, medverka, del ta i
ka m pen pa l i v och dod,
den som rasar i a l i t det skenbart l i kg i l tiga
ner t i l l ett fingers rorel se, e t t d a m m korns fl ykt .
De v an l iga, d e i cke l ikg i l tiga, magnetiserade.
De som gar i n i d et m i nsta
med hj arta, sj a l o ch ode so m insats.
Det ar de h a l vvags h un n a- och h a l vvags fangn a,
ty d en so m ar s i n akl agare o ch forsvarsadvokat,
han ar sin bro t t s l i ng .

D e som a l d r i g har glomt a t t grat t ar gratt,

som geno mga t t ratio n a l i s mens l agj u den dom,
som b l i vi t porosa vaggar fo r den h i m melsk-i nfern a l i ska
os mosen :
De l ikgi l t iga, a n t i magneti ska .
Det ar de udd a .
D e so m soker ga u t u r d e t m i nsta
l a m n ande hj arta, sj al o ch ode so m gisslan,
en dast medforande det obestamda och obest a mba ra .

Da r, pa den tred j e sidan a v l i vet,

d a r ar det sva rta, d et gra o ch det v i t a i ngendera delen
och a v de trenne ska pas ett o t a l valorer
bo rtom al i a san n i ngar och logner.
Tho se who see black and wh ite nerves i n all the end less
gray,
who are co nstantly forced again and ag a i n
t o as sert, t o experi ence, coopera te, t ake part
in the ba ttle of l i fe and dea th,
the fight that rages in everything apparently neutral
down to a finger's mo tion, the d ance of a fleck of du s t .
Those o rdinary, tho se n o t co o l, tho s e magnetized .
Those who go into the slightes t thing
with heart, soul, and fate as s t ake s .
These people are those ha lf-way evolved, a n d half-way
held back,
for the rhan who is h i s own prosecutor and h i s own
defense atto rney
is also his own cri minal .

Tho se who h ave never forgotten that gray i s g ray,

who have passed beyond the Ju d a i c l aw of rational i s m,
who h ave beco me porous walls for the divinely-satani c
osmosi s :
Th e cool, the anti-magnetic.
They are the odd ones .
Those who try to go away fro m even the slightest things
with heart, soul, and destiny as hostages
only takin�g with them what i s undecided and
undeci d ab l e .

Th ere, on the third s i d e o f life,

where it is nei ther b l a ck nor gray nor whi te,
and out of the th ree is created an i mmense number o f
values
beyond all tru ths and lies .

93
 3

Fangar :
De so m ban ka, bryt a o ch band a .
De so m fl y for a t t at ervand a .
D e so m vandra oigenkand a :
Fri a .

Det ar trappstegen v i l d dj u r, bo skap, ra sd j u r.

Jag a l skar moj l i gheterna t i l l ras hos vi lddj u ren
och deras sj a l vt i l lrack l ig het .
J ag a l skar den a tervunna skyggh eten hos rasdj uren
och dera s nervosi tet,
den end a sakra gru nden for ett l ug n .

En ma n n i ska a r a l d rig ho mogen :

Hon a r s i t t fors ta och s i t t a ndra,
pa en ga ng ! I n te i tur och ord n i ng .

H o n a r s i t t tredje o c h ta l losa ,
j u t a l losare, dess enhetl igare,
j u fler, dess fa rre,
blott hennes rost ar den udda ros ten :

En ar ens a m, tva t v i s t ar .
Tre ar en sa mma, fyra gar i krig .
Fe rn ar ensa m m a .

Du skriker t i l l li vet :
U d d a el ler j a mnt ! - och tror hand sken kastad .
Men l i vet t a r i n ga risker- och udda vin ner.
S a l a ngl' du s t a r pa din ra t t spel a r l i vet fa lsk t - och udda
v m ner
 Prisoners :
Those who kno ck, break, and wren ch .
Those who flee in order to return.
Tho se who walk about unrecogni zed .
The free .

There are stairs : wi ld an i m als, domestic animals,

pure-bred ani mal s .
I love t h e po ssib i l i ties of pure lines i n t h e w i l d ani mals
and their self-sufficiency.
I love the shyne ss won b a ck in the pure-bred animals
and their nervousness,
the only true foundation for calmnes s .

Man is never ho mogeneous :

H e is his first and h i s second,
at the same time ! Not one after the o ther .

H e i s h i s third and numberless,

the less he can be numb ered, the more unified,
the more, the fewer,
only man's voi ce is the o dd voice.

One stands alone, two disagree.

Three stand alone, four go to war .
Five s tand alone.

You shout to life :

Odd o r even ! and believe the glove i s t hrown down.
B ut life takes no chances- and odd wins .
A s long as you stand on your rights life cheats- and
odd wins .

95
N ar du ger upp d i n ra t t spelar l ivet rent- och udda
v1nner :
Udda ar ett mer an j a mn t .
U d d a och j a mn t ! - E l ler gallde det
rent eller fal skt ?

l n te dodslangtan
men l ara sig anvan d a doden :
U t an a t t doden fu nnes
levde i ngen .

l n te l i vsdyrkan
men lara sig anvanda l ivet :
Den so m verk l igen lever
a r som vore h an dod .

D u dops for forsta gangen

med l iv och bara med l i v .
D u dops for andr a ga ngen

i eld och ande, heter det .

Betyder : nagon ting fa ttas.
Du dops for tredje gangen .

Du sju nker for forst a gangen .

Da ser du d i t t liv som det ar och var.
Du sj unker for andra gangen .
Da scr du d i t t l i v so m det borde vara
och bord e h a vari t .
Du s j u nker for t red j e gangen.
When you give up your rights life pl ays it straight- and
odd wins :
Odd i s one more than even .
Odd and even ! Or does it co ncern
s traight or crooked ?

Not longing for death

but learning to use death :
I f death did not ex ist
no one would live.

Not worship of l i fe
but le arning to use life :
H e who t ruly lives
i s as if he were dead .

You are b aptized for the first time

with life and l ife only.
You are bapt ized for the second time

w i th fire and spiri t as it i s writ ten .

That means : something i s missing .
You are b apt ized for t he third time.

You go down fo r the first time.

You s ee your l i fe a s i t i s and was .
You go down fo r the second time.
You see your l i fe as i t ought to b e,
and ought to h ave b een .
You go do wn for the third time.

97
 4

0 hel iga dod ! D u so m ger m i t t l i v en men i ng .

0 hel iga k ar l ek ! N i tvenne.
N i som tar oss och gor m ed oss vad n i v i l l
- fanga r nyss p a Ogygias o o ch n u i cyklopens grotta,
fangar for l i v och dod .

L i vets men i ng :
A t t i n for dod en so ka en m en i ng a t l ivet,
nu n ar den enogde ater ror i sin gryta,
b l aser pa elden och t revar,
branner sig, ryter och fam l a r,
slar omkring sig, snavar, ko mmer fam l and e,
sa som han fa m l a t a l l tsen d en fo rsl agne b l a ndade
honom ,
han som ater o s s e n efter en ,
s l i ter oss sonder so m S a t u rn u s s i n a soner
- a l ld el es men i ngs lost ! O ch var fi nn s en u tgang ?

Lon lost att krypa bak skyn ket manni skova rd e

e l l er bak kryd d k i stan rel igion !
Lo nlost a t t smyga s ig u t med Hi ren
e l l er att go ra sig t i l l ett fa r !
Och han som bland ade d ig var bara e n d i plomat,
fi ck fri st mot bo rgen i var apt i t l i ga angest,
n a r m a l t idsti mmarna n a l kades
o ch v i t rodde v a l et var b l i n t :
Du ser oss, fa m l a nde Po l yfe mos, du ser m i g !
Och a l i t e n m a n n i ska k a n go ra ar a t t van ta
och sl·d a n : a t t s t re t a emot !
Yl·rkl ighl' t l•n �i r h �i r och n u .
 4
0 s a cred death ! You give my life a purpose.
0 sacred love ! You two .
You who take and d o with us what you wish-
make u s pri soners in Ogygi as' i s l an d and then in the
Cyclops' cave,
prisoners for life and de ath .

The purpose of l ife :

To look for a purpose i n l i fe face-to-face with death,
now whi l e the one-eyed one stirs his po t again,
blows on the fire and gropes about,
burns himself, howls, and fumbles about,
strikes out around h i m, s tu mbles, comes feeling around,
just a s he h a s fumbl ed since the crafty one blinded him,
he who eats u s one after the o ther,
tears us apart as S aturn tore his sons,
- completely meaningles s ! A nd where is the way out ?

Useless to crawl behind the cover of the dignity of l ife

or behind the spi ce-chest rel igion !
U seless to s muggle yourself out w i th the s heep
or turn yourself into a sheep !
And he . who blinded you was merely a diplomat,
got a few d ays' grace by putting our tasty anxiety as
bail,
when the meal ti mes grew near
and we thought he was choo sing b lindly :
You see us, fumbling Polyphemus, you see me !
And all we can do i s wait,
and finally : struggle !
Real i ty i s here and now.

99
J ag ar J ag,
tra ngd emot vaggen,
med a n det rod a oga t b l i n kar emot mig,
medan de rod a j a t tehanderna fa m l a r emot mig
och a n t l igen va ljer sig annat o ffer.

Det vi sste j ag va l .

J ag tror pa den en s a m m a m an n i skan,

pa henne so m vandrar ens a m ,

so m i n te h u nd l i k t I oper t i l l s i n v i t tring,
so m i n t e varg l i kt flyr for m anskov i t t ri ng :
Pa en gang mann i ska och a n t i - manniska.

H u r na gemen skap ?
Fly den ovre och y t t re vagen :
Det so m ar boskap i andra ar boskap ocksa i dig.
G a den u n d re och i n re vagen :
Det so m a r botten i d i g a r bot ten ocksa i andra .

Svart att vanj a sig vid sig sj alv.

Svart att va nj a sig av med sig sj a l v .

Den som gor d e t ska l l anda a l drig bl i overgi ven .

Den som gor det ska l l anda al l t i d fo rb l i so lid arisk.
Oct opra kt i ska ar dct enda praktiska
i l a n gdcn .

1 00
I am I ,
pres sed against the wall,
wh ile the red eye winks toward me,
while the red gi ant -hands feel about for me
and finally choose ano ther victi m .

I knew i t .

I bel ieve in the soli tary person,

in the man who walks about alone,
and does not run l ike a dog b ack on his own s cent,
and does not run l ike a wolf fro m hu man scen t :
A t once hu man and anti-human.

How to reach com munity?

A void the upper and the outer ro ad :
What i s herdl i ke in ot hers i s herdlike also i n yo u .
Take the lo wer and inward road !
Wh at i s gro und i n you i s ground also in o th ers .

H ard to get into the habit of yourself,

H ard to get out o f the h ab i t of yourself.

He who does i t shall never be deserted anyw ay.

He who does it shall remain loyal anyway.
The impract i cal i s the only thing pra ctical
in the long run .

101
 6

Det fi nns nago n t i ng so m i ngens tans passar

och anda inte ar pafa l l ande
och anda bes tammer
och anda ar u t a n for.
Det finns nagon t i ng so m marks j us t nar det i n te marks
( som tystnaden)
och i nte marks j u s t d a r det vo re markb art ,
t y d ar fo rvax l a s det ( so n t tystnaden ) m e d a n n a t .

Se vagorna under h i ml en. Storm a r yta

och storm vart satt att se.
(Vad ror mig vagorn a . E l ler den sj unde vagen. )
Det fi nns ett tom ru m mel l an vagorna :
Se havet . Se stenarna pa marken.
Det finns ett tomru m mel lan sten a rn a :
De brot sig i n t e loss, de kastade sig i n te h i t ,
de J igger d ar och a r- en del av klippan .
Sa gor d ig tu ng, gor bruk av d i n doda vi kt,
l at b ryta d ig, l a t kasta d ig, fa l l ,
fo ri i s p a k l i ppan !
(Vad ro r mig k l i ppan . )

Det fi nns va rldsa l l t , so lar och a tomer.

Det fi nns en ku nskap, stra tegi skt byggd pa fasta
pu nk ter.
Det fi n n s en kunskap, o forsva rad, byggd pa osakert
t o m ru m .
De t fi n n s et t t o m ru m mel l a n varldsa l l t , so lar och
a t o mer.
( VaJ ri1 r m i g v�i r l d sa l l t , so l �u o ch at omer . )
Dl•t fi n n s d l•n udd a s y n pu nk t e n p a a l i t
i dl· t t �1 J u h b l a I i v .

1 02
 6

There ex ists somet hing that fi ts nowhere

and yet is in no way remarkable
and yet is deci sive
and yet is outsid e i t all .
There exi sts something whi ch i s no ti ced j u s t when i t
i s no t noti ceable
( l i ke silence)
and i s not no ti ced just when it b ecomes noti ceable
fo r then it i s mistaken (like silence) for so mething el se.

S ee the waves under the sky. S torm i s surface

and storm our way of seeing .
(What d o I care for t h e waves or the seventh wave . )
There i s a n emptiness between the w aves :
Look at the sea. Look at the stones of the fi eld .
There is an emptiness b etween the stones :
They did not break loose- they did not thro w
themselves here,
They lie there and exi st- a part of the ro ck sheath .
So make yoursel f heavy- make use of your dead weig ht,
let i t break you, l et it throw you, fall down,
l et i t leave you shipwrecked on the ro ck !
(What do) care abo ut the ro ck. )

Th ere are universes, suns and atoms .

There is a knowl edge, carefully bu i l t on strong points .
There is a knowledge, unprotected, bu il t o n insecure
emptiness.
There is an e mptines s between universes, suns, and
atoms .
(What do I care abou t universes, suns, and atoms . )
There i s an o dd vi ewpo int o n everything
in thi s doubl e life.

1 03
Det fi nns frid bortom a l i t .
Det finns frid ba kom a l i t .
Det fi nns frid i n ne i a l i t .

Dold i handen .
Do ld i penn an .
Do ld i blacket .
Jag kanner frid over a l i t .
Jag vadrar fri d bakom a l i t .
Jag ser och hor fri d i n ne i a l l t ,
enton i g fri d bortom a l i t .
(Vad ro r m i g fri d . )

I 0 ·1
There is peace beyond al l .
There i s peace behind all.
There is peace ins i de all .

Concealed in the hand .

Concealed in the pen .
Concealed in the ink.
I feel peace everywhere .
I smell peace behind everything .
I see and hear peace inside everything,
monotonous peace beyond everything .
(What do I care about peace . )

1 05
ENQUETE

Vad anser ni so m er uppg i ft i l i vet ?

J ag a r en abso l u t onyt t i g man n i s k a .
V a d ar e r po l i t i ska overtygel se ?
Det best aende a r bra . Oppos i t ionen
mot det best aende ar bra . E t t tredj e
kunde man ocksa t anka sig- men vad ?
Er re l igiosa meni ng, o m ni har n ago n ?
Densam ma som min men ing o m m u si k : A tt end a s t
d e n sant o m u s i k a l i ske kan vara mu si kal i sk .
V a d soker ni h o s m an n i skor ? M i na forb i n d el ser
ar trakigt nog av l i ten eller i ngen a i l s konstans.
Vad soker ni i backer ? Fi losofi s k t dj up ?
B redd el ler hoj d ? Epi k ? Lyri k ?
J ag soker den perfekt a klotfo rmen .
Vad ar det vackraste n i vet ?
Fagl ar pa kyrkogardar, fj ari l a r pa sl agfal t,
nago n t i ng mi t t e me l l a n . J ag ve t i n te .
Er a l skl i ngshobby ? J a g h a r i nga hobbies .
Er I i l la skotesynd ? A t t ona nera .
Och s l u t l igen ( sa kort fa t ta t so m moj l igt ) :
Varfor skri ver n i ?
A v brist pa sysselsa t t n i ng . Va de re tro .
N i vi tsa r ocksa ?
J a ! - jag vi tsa r ocksa .

l Ob
QUESTIO NNAIRE

What do you consider your mi ssion in l i fe ?

I a m a n abso lutely u seless human being .
What are your pol i tical convi ctions ?
What we have now is fine. The opposi tio n
to what we have no w i s fine . One ought to be
able to imagine a third- but what ?
Your opinion on religion, if any ?
The same as my opinion on mu s i c, namely only
he who i s truly unmusi cal can b e musical .
Wh at do you look for in people? M y rel ationships
have unfortunately little o r no constancy .
What do you look for i n li terature ? Phi losophic depth ?
B readth or height ? Epic? Lyric ?
I look fo r t h e perfect sphere .
What is the mo st beau tifu l thing you know of?
B i rds in the cemeteri es, butterflies on battlefields,
so mething in b etween . I really don't kno w .
Your favorite hobby ? I h ave n o hobbies.
Your favorite sin ? Onanism.
And to co nclude ( a s briefly as possible) :
Why do you wri t e ?
I h ave no th ing e l s e t o d o . Emma Wright.
You make puns, also ?
Yes ! - ! make puns, a l s o .

107
ElUDES

1.

N a t t och sti l tj e . Tystnad :

I n te en h und som ska l l er.
Det frost l u dna graset
spra kar for foten.

Vi ta s t i rrar husen
med svart nade gl uggar,
manskensdo t t b H i n kande,
ru l lgard i nsdod a ,

n a s t a n s o m horde man u t
de sovandes andn i ng,
nagon so m vander sig . . .
- M en manen vand ra r,

en fe som sankt dem i som n

for att osed d ga t i l l badet,
sa svartsj u k om s i n vi thet
so m doden om si tt mo rker.

A tt sova en na t t hos d i g,
en enda n a t t ! Om i n t e­
forvan dla d i n s l a v
t ill s t en fo r han s djarvhet,

t ill sk vallrandc burk,

t ill anlupen flaska,
t ill brytande vag,
t i ll vad du v i i i pe ri .
,

1 08
ETUDES

1.
N ight and s tillness . S i l ence :
Not a dog i s barking .
The frosty gra ss
crackles beneath the feet.

The whi te houses stare out

wi th darkened holes,
glea ming moonlight-dead,
curtain-dead things,

almost as if one heard

the sleepers breathing,
someone who turns over . . .
- B ut the moon i s wandering,

a godmo ther who pu ts them to sl eep

so she can take her b ath alone,
as j e alous of her own whi teness
as death i s of his s h adows .

To sleep Dne night with you,

only one ! I f you refu se,
then turn your sl ave
to stone for his rashness,

to a babbling pot,
to a tarnis hed bottle,
to a breaking wave,
to what you will, peri .

1 09
 3.

E n varld a r varj e manniska, befo l kad

av b l i n d a varel ser i d u n ke l t uppro r
m o t j aget kon u ngen so m harskar over d e m .
I va rj e sj a l ar tu sen sj a l a r fangna,
i varj e varld ar tu sen varldar dolda
och dessa blinda, dessa undre varldar
ar verkl iga och levande, fast ofu l lgangna,
sa sant so m j ag ar verk l ig. O ch vi konungar
och fu rs tar av de tu sen moj l iga inom oss
ar sj a l va u ndersa tar, fangn a sj a l v a
i nagon storre varelse, vars j ag och vasen
vi l i ka l i tet fa ttar so m var overman
sin overman . A v deras dod o ch karl ek
har vara eg na kanslor fa t t en fargton.

Som n a r en valdig angare passera r

l angt ute, under ho ri son ten, d a r den l i gger
sa a fton b l an k . - Och vi vet i n te om den
fo rran en sva l l vag nar t i l l oss pa stranden,
fo rs t en, sa annu en o ch manga flera
som slar o ch brusar t i l l dess a l i t har blivi t
so m fo ru t . - A l l t a r a n d a a n norl u n d a .

S a grips v i skuggor a v en sa l l sam o ro

nar n agot sager 0 5 5 att fo l k har fa rda t s,
a t t nagra av de moj l iga be fri a t s .

I I0
 3.

E ach person is a wo rld, peopl ed

by bl ind cre atures in dim revo l t
ag ainst t h e I , t h e king, w h o ru les them .
I n each soul thous ands of so uls are impriso ned,
in each worl d tho usands of worlds are hidden
and these bl ind and lower wo rlds
are real and living, though not full-born,
as truly as I am re a l . And we kings
and barons of the thousand po ten tial creatures within us
are citi zens ourselves, i mpri soned
in so me larg er creature, whose ego and nature
we understand as little as our m a ster
his master. Fro m their death and their l ove
our own feel ings h ave received a co loring .

A s when a great liner passes by

far out below the horizon where the sea l i es
so still at dusk. And we kno w nothing of i t
un til a swel l reaches us on the shore,
first one, then one more, and then many
washing and breaking until it all goes b a ck
as before. Yet i t i s all ch anged .

So we shadows are sei zed by a s trange unrest

when so mething tel l s us that people h av e left,
that some of th e possible cre atures have gotten free .

111
 5.

SUNG

Det ar stj a rnkl art i kva l l .

Luften a r ren o ch kal l .
M anen soker hos a l i a t i ng
s i t t for lorade a rv .

Ett fons ter, e n blom mande gren

och det ar nog :
l ngen blom utan j o rd .
l ngen j o rd utan rymd .
l ngen rymd u t a n blo m .

I 12
 5.

SUNG

The s tars are clear tonight .

The a i r is pure and col d .
The moon i s looking for her lost
inheritance everywhere .

A window, a branch i n blossom

and that i s enough :
No blos som wi thout eart h .
No e arth without sp ace .
No space without blossom.

113
EN JULINA IT
( pa rygg i eka n dri va nde)

Byggd av sammantra ffanden

lyckl iga e l l er olyckl iga-
varken lyckl iga el ler o l yckl iga
kanske i n te ens sammantra ffanden
av stranga, i cke st ranga stj a rnor
markpunkter i en benstom me i vardande
ofu l lgangen, annu blo t t ske m a t i skt byggd
av punkter ma rkerande bel agenheten for
knaskalar, hoftskalar, armleder
sen fasten, kraft l i n j es a m l ande punkter­
ocksa forbroskni ngar, fel l ak n i ngar
senst rackni ngar, predesti nerade
frakturer . . . Vern kan utrona h u r
benen b i ldas i den h avandes l iv
e l l er vid v i l ken tidpu n kt han ska l l
forandra atomvi kt, och ben av h an s ben
med hono m vi ?

Du som har makt med d i t t barn

och kan ford riva det
e l l er ta bort det
fo rskj u t a det, utsatta det
du som ofat tbart borto m, ova nfor
a s t rono m i ska katego rier
ka n ske s t o k a r o m k ri n g i d i t t kok
e l l er d ri ver pa gat an med oss
l yckl i g el ler o l yckl i g
va rken l yckl ig e l l er o l yckl i g
so m kvi n n o r a r m est , fu nderande (.)ve r
u t vaga r, mi1 j l igh e t er !

I I .J
A JULY NIGHT
(on my back in a drifting rowbo at)

Built on co incidental meetings

happy or unh appy
nei ther happy nor unh appy
perhap s no t even coincidental
of severe, of not severe stars
marking -points in a skeleton in process of beco ming
no t developed, still only schemati cally bui l t
of po ints marking t h e location of
knee sockets, hip so ckets, arm joints
sinews, points gathering the l ines of force-
also too mu ch carti lage, unset bones,
straining of ten dons, p redestined
fractures . . . Who can search out
how the bone is bu i l t in the womb of the wo m an grea t
with chi l d
or at whi ch point o f t i m e h e wi l l
ch ange hi s atomic weight, a n d bone of his bone
we with hi m ?

You who h ave power over your chi l d

a n d can get rid of i t
o r take i t away
rej ect it, expose it
you who, unb elievably far off, above
astrono mi cal categories
perh aps are cleaning around in you r ki tchen
or walking the streets with us
happy or unh appy
nei ther h appy nor unh appy
as women for the most part are, pondering over
ways out, possibili ties !

1 15
Lat mig beh a l l a min varld,
min prenata l a varl d !
G e mig t i l l baka m i n varld !
Mork ar m i n varld
men i morkret vi i i j ag ga hem
genom gras, u nder d u ngar.

l lb
Let me keep my world
my prenatal world !
G ive me b a ck my wo rl d !
M y world i s a d ark one
bu t I will go home in the darkn e s s
through t h e g r a s s , un der t h e woo d s .

117
SVANEN

I
Jag horde vi ldgass over sj ukhusparken
da r manga vanka r bleka
- en morgon i dva l a
Jag horde dem ! J ag hor dem !
J ag d ro mde j ag horde-

Och anda h ar j ag hort dem !

H ar ring l a r and losa gangar

kri ng bo t ten losa d a m mar
H ar speglar alla d agar
en en ahanda d ag
och skona blommor s l u ter
vid l a t taste beroring
de okanda bl ad-

Hor kvinnan vid sj uksysterns arm

hon skri ker i ett kor :
Oj avlar Satan Oj avlar
- l eds hemat
skynd s a m t . . .
Det ar skym n i ng
over l a x fa rgade ko mplex
och u t a n for stangslet
a ne m i sk rod nad over oandl iga forstader
av identi ska hus
med varl igt angande l a nd emel l a n . . .

1 18
THE SWAN

I
I heard wild geese over the ho sp i t al grounds
wh ere many pale people walk b ack and forth
- one morning in a daze
I heard them ! I hear them !
I dreamt I heard-

And nevertheless I did hear them !

Here end less walks circle abou t

around bo ttomless dams
Here the d ays all refle ct
one monotonous day
a t th e slightest touch
beautiful blo ssoms clo s e
their strange petals-

The woman on a nurse's arm

she s creams incessantly :
Hell Devi l H ell
- i s led home
hurri edly . . .
Dusk has come
over the sal mon-co lored bui ldings
and outsi d e the wall
an anem i c blush over end less suburbs
of i den tical houses
with some vegetable beds steaming as i f in spri ng
betwe en . . .

119
M an bran ner ris och lov :
Det ar host
och I anden harj ade av maskfra tt kal
och avblo mmade blommo r-

Jag horde v i l dgass over sj ukhu sparken

en host l i g varmorgon
Jag horde v i ldgass en morgo n
en varhost morgon
tru mpetande-

A t norr ? A t soder ?
A t norr ? A t no rr !
Langt har i fran-

Det bor en friskhet d j upt i mig

so m ingen kan frankanna mig
ej ens j ag sj a lv-

1 20
They are burning twigs and l eaves :
I t i s fall
and the veget able bed s are att acked by worm-eaten
cabbages
and bare flowers-

I heard wi ld geese over the hospital grounds

one autumnlike spring morning
I heard wild geese one morning
one spri ng au tumn morning
trumpeting-

To the north ? To the sou th ?

To the north ! To the north !
Far from here-

A freshnes s lives deep in me

which no one can take from me
not even I myself-

121
 II
M anen gar upp, och n a t ten
sanks over vinterfa l te n .
S t j a rnornas smidjeb a l ten
slungar Svanen mot Leda .

S vandun, l i kt snofa l l i vat ten,

slocknar. H an bojer s i t t h u vu d
over e n stj arna so m rop ar,
d j upt over mann i sko hopa r,
fo rskar med gu l a n abben
d j upt i det sva rta sl a m met :
Torrt ar det svarta vattnet .
L arver heter hans foda .
Led a heter hans kra mpa .

Leva nde maste han sva l j a,

l evande maste han doda,
kanna de hat ande kva l j a ,
kann a de hatande st rava
hu ngern emot i sin krava,
kanna sin hu nger forno tas,
kanna de a l skande ka mpa
u t a n att nagonsi n motas.

1 22
 II
The moon ri ses, and night
co mes down over the winter fields.
The burning zones o f the st ars
throw the S wan toward Led a .

S wandown, l i k e snowfall in water,

goes out. H e bends his head
over a star whi ch cal l s out,
deep over masses o f p eople,
searches with h i s yel low b eak
deep in the black ooz e :
The b l ack l ake i s dry.
G rubs is the name o f his foo d .
Ted ium i s the name o f his illnes s .

He mu st swallow l iving things,

he mus t kill living things,
feel the hateful thing s gag hi m,
feel the hatefu l things s truggl e
against t h e hunger in t h e gi zzard,
feel his hunger fade away,
feel the struggl e of the lovers to co me together
though they never sh al l meet.

1 23
from

STROUNTES (Nonsense) 1955

"VIM KC. MMER, FRAGAR DU"

Vern ko mmer, fragar d u

D u v i l l a t t n agon ska l l kom ma
Vet du i nt e a t t det a r d u so m skal l komma
du sj a l v, men t i l l i ngen gud
t i l l I ntet
Dess portar star oppna
Dess port a r s l a r i n agon vind
V ad finns det d a r i n ne
vad bj uder du mig ?
A, a l l t i d n agot !
Dar fi nns l i te d a m m , n agra stoftkorn
ett t rasigt kugghj u l pa j o rdgol vet
och n agra s l aggstycken so m efter en ned lagd smed j a
fas t det kan ske a l d ri g fu n n i ts n agon

J .! o
"WHO IS COMING, YOU ASK"

Who is coming, you ask

You wi sh so mebo dy woul d co me
Don 't you know that you are the one who will come
You will co me, but not to any god
to Nothing
I ts doors stand open
Its doors swing in the wind
What wi l l be found i n there ?
Wh at w i l l you offer me ?
0 always something !
There will be a little dust, some ashes
a bro ken cogwheel on the dirt floor
and some slags tuff, a s when a s mi thy is torn down
though i t' s a lways possible there never w a s one a t a l l

1 27
" fRAGAR DU MIG VAR JAG FINNS"

Fragar d u mig var j ag finns

sa bor j ag har bako m bergen
Det ar langt men j ag ar nar a
J ag bor i en annan varld
men d u bo r j u i samma
Den finns overa l l t o m ocksa s a l l synt som hel i u m
Va rfor begar d u e t t l u ftskepp a t t fara med
B egar i sta l l et ett fi l ter for kvave
ett fi l ter for ko l syra, vate o ch andra gaser
B egar ett fi l ter fo r a l i t som ski l j er oss
ett fi l ter for li vet
Du sager a t t du nastan i n te kan andas
A n sen ! Vern t ror d u kan andas ?
Den mesta t iden tar vi det anda med j a mn mod
En vis man har sagt :
" Det var sa morkt a t t j ag n a t t och j a m n t kunde se
stj arnorn a "
H a n menade bara a t t d e t va r n a t t

1 2�
"IF YOU ASK M E WHERE I LIVE"

If you ask me where I live

I live right here behind the mountain
I t 's a long way off but I am near
I live in another world
but you live there also
Th at world i s everywhere even if it is as rare as hel ium
Why do you ask for an airship to bear you o ff?
A sk instead for a fil ter for carbon dioxide
a filter for hydrogen, for ni trogen, and o th er g a se s
A s k for a filter for all these things that separate u s fro m
each other
a filter for l i fe
You say you can h ard ly b reathe ?
Well, who do you t hink ca n breathe ?
For the mo s t p art we take it however wi t h equ animity
A wise man has said :
"I t was so dark I cou l d b arely see the stars"
H e meant si mpl y that i t was night

1 29
"TY NA ITEN KOMMER"

Ty n a t ten ko mmer
da l ycka och olycka
vi lar i fri d med vara n n

D u ser h u r skym n i ngen fa l l er snabbt

som klockk lang
och fon s ter efter fo n s t er tands

Da ri nne har de a t i t sin spaghetti

och u t an tanke pa morgond agen
sover de snart med varann

Ty n a t ten ko m mer :
Det fi nns i ngen mo rgondag :
Det fin n s i ngen stad

1 30
" FOR NIGHT COMES"

For night co mes

when happiness and unhappiness
rest in pea ce with each o t her

You see how q u i ckly the dusk fal l s

l i ke bellto l l s
a n d window after wi ndow l ig h t s u p

I nside there they h ave ea ten their sp ag he t ti

and witho u t a thought o f the co ming d a y
t h e y wi l l s o o n s leep n ex t t o each other

For the night co mes :

No nex t d a y ex i s t s :
No city ex i s t s

1 31
"DEN DJUPA NAITENS TYSTNAD AR STOR"

Den dj L.Ipa n a t tens tyst n ad ar stor

Den stors i nte av prass let fra n m a n n i skor
so m a ter varann har pa stranden

Och j ag kan hora

det u n d erbara frasande lj udet
a v skepp som fardas
pa h avet d arute

Dessa skepp, a r de d a sa oskyl diga ?

I bland hors i h a l l ande t j u t d a ru t i fran
- som o m . . . o m . . .

1 32
"THE S ILENCE OF THE DEEP NIG HT I S HU G E "

The s i l ence of the deep night i s hug e

I t is not distu rbed by the ru stling of human beings
who eat each other here on the shore

And I can hear

the wonderful swishing sound
from ships who j ou rney
on the sea out there

These shi ps, are th ey really so innocent ?

Sometimes one hears fro m out there long howls
- as if . . . as if . . .

1 33
"MEN PA EN ANNAN ORT HAR JAG lART"

Men pa en annan ort h a r j a g l a rt

un derj ordens hemskhet :
H a r ar underj o rdens l eende
H a r fi nns m i n u ter och sek u nder
o ch den blanka randen mel l an hav och hi mmel
H a r fi nns den korta katastro fen o ch det ko rt a u tbro ttet
av g l a d j e
M en d u , var fi nns du, Sorg
so m man kunde kasta sig i h avet efter ?
N a t ten ko m mer och manen gar upp
J ag oppn a r a l i a fonster
J ag vet att hon vid m i n s i d a a l skar m ig
men ar det verk l igen hon
" BUT SOMEWHERE ELSE I HAVE LEARNED"

But so mewhere else I have learned

the gruesomeness of hell :
Here is the smile of hel l
here minutes and seconds ex i s t
a n d t h e bright border between s e a a n d sky
here the short disaster ex ists and the sh ort outburst
of joy
But you, where are you, sorrow,
whi ch one co uld th ro w onesel f into the s ea to fin d ?
Night co mes and the moon ri ses
I open all the windows
I know that she by my s i de loves me
but is it really she

135
TRIONFO DELLA MORTE

T re ri ddare stego u t
l yfte tre j u ngfrur i sadeln
Tre riddare stego ti l l hast
med fa l ka r pa handsken
Vern skar, vern binder u p p ?
I e n enslig, skogfu l l d a l
d em m o t t e i sex oppna kistor
tre kvi nn o l i k, tre m an s l i k svep ta
i en enslig, skogfu l l d a l
d it deras fa lkar locka t
M en i snaret sti rra r
med gu l a ogon ugg l a n

Ti l l d e n da len h a d e sm i ttan a n n u i n t e hu n n i t
V e rn skar, vern binder u p p ?
I d e n d a len v a r s m i t t an a l l estades n a rvarande
Den var i Enhorni ngens dod
Den var i askadandet av skona l i k
Den var i sk andandet a v j ungfru n
under ugg l ans gu l a fo rhaxande b l i ck
Da rner och herrar redo vidare
iska l l a i s i n a skoten, stel nade i si na lem mar
och vad de gj orde varand ra
det vi i i ej j ag formala
Envar vet bast sj alv

M en dar fa n n s, i d e n s t a d en
t re t i gg a re dem a l i a kande
t re t i ggers kor d e m a l i a k and e
Vern skar, vern b i n d e r upp ?
I sex ki s t o r v a n t a d e d e ho l j da

l 3b
TRI ONFO DELLA MORTE

Three knights stepped out

lifted three virgins to the s addle
Three knights cl i mbed on their horses
with fal con s on their gloves
Who cuts the grain, and who binds i t ?
I n a lonely valley full o f trees
they met the six open coffins
three wo men corp s es, three men corpses in shrouds
in a lonely valley fu l l of trees
lured there by their fal cons
But in the bushes st ares
the owl with yel low eyes

The plague had not yet reached that valley

Who cuts the grain, and who binds i t ?
The pl ague w a s everywhere present i n th at vall ey
It was in the death of the Uni corn
I t was in the w at ching of beautiful corpses
I t was in the violation o f the virgin
beneath the yellow witchlike gaze o f the owl
The l ad ies and lord s rode on
i cecold in their bowels, stiffen ed in their l i mb s
and what they did to e a ch o ther
that I will not tell
E a ch knows best hi msel f

B ut there were, in that ci ty,

three men beggars who m everyone knew
three women beggars whom everyone knew
Who cuts the grain, and who binds i t ?
I n the six coffins they waited, hidden

1 37
som i ett svepe av fru ktan och hopp
fo rvarade blott i sin vantan
som i ett svepe av fruktan och hopp
Dessa sago inte d a mern as o ch h errarnas fa rd
Dessa sago i n te fa lkarnas flykt
e l l er d a len med dess skog
De sago blott mol nen i ljusa hi mlen
as if in a winding sheet of terror and hope
preserved only in their waiting
a s i f in a winding sheet of terror and hope
They did not see the journey of the ladies and lords
They did no t see the fligh t of the fal cons
or the valley with i ts forest
They saw only clou ds in the light h eavens

1 39
"SA FRAMMANDE FOR MIG"

Sa fr ammande for mig

denna ros, denna l j u vt u tspru ckn a
denna franvarande tankfu l l het
e l ler lj uset over en bortvand kind . . .
So m en dag o m varen
da man anar nago t och h a i ler det fa st
ett ogon bl i ck, en sekund
oforanderl ig
nago t so m a l d rig ska ll b l i som m a r

1 40
"SO STRANGE TO ME"

So strange to me
this ro se, this thing deli cately burs ting out
this ab s ent thoughtfulness
or light over a turned-away cheek . . .
A s on a spring day
when you sense something an d hold it fi rmly
an instant, a second
unch ange able
something that shall never turn to summer

141
MONOLOG MED DESS HUSTRU

Tag tva ex tra ga m l a kammarherrar och h i nn upp dem

pa Nordsj on
Forse dem med var s i n komet i and an
Sju kometer va r !
Telegrafera :
Om st aden Trond hei m t a r emot dem kommer den a t t
bo mbas
Om talgfal tet slapper u t dem ko m mer det att bombas
N u ma ste d u sign a l era :
S torre fa rtyg anko m mer
Ser du i n te, d ar i rad ion ! S torre fartyg
i uppfart . S igna lera en varn i ng !
A l i a sma jordgu bbsbatar ska d u saga a t t d e giu i n t i l l
strand och l agger sig

- Kom och hj a l p mig. J ag fo rsv i n n er.

H an h a i ler pa att forvan d l a mig, guden i hornet
darborta ( v i skande)

1 42
MONOLOGUE WITH ITS WIFE

Take two ex tra-old cabinet ministers and overtake them

on the North Sea
Provide each of them with a co met in the rear
Seven co mets each !
Send a wire :
I f the city of Trondheim t akes them in i t wi l l be bo mbed
If the suet field allows them to es cape i t will be bombed
Now you h ave to signal :
L arger ships approaching
Don't you see, t here in the ra dio ! L arger ships
in converging path . S end a warning !
A l l small strawberry boats shall be ordered to go into
the shore and lie down

- Come and help me. I am dis appearing .

The god i s in the process of transforming me, the on e
in the corn er o ver there (whispering)

1 43
"NAR DE S LI PPER UT GENOM KORGARDSG RI NDEN"

N a r d e s l i p p e r u t g en o m k o rg a r d sg r i n d e n
e n p a s k n a t t , e n p a sk n a t t
N a r d e d o d a g a r u t o c h b et i t t a s t a d en
e n m a n s k en s n a t t , e n m a n - n a t t
D a a r d e t evi g h e m l o s h e t so m go r s i g k n a s a t t
k n a sa t t h o s a n d ra d o d a
De d o d a , d e l u n k a r t i l l s i n a g a m l a t o m t er
s a s m a n r n go m , s a s m a n r ngo m :
. .

Fo r i n t a d e, s t o r t ad e h u s -
D a r fi n n s i ng a i ng a ng a r , n ej , d a r fi n n s i ng a i ng a n g a r
D a r fi n n s i n g a k o k , i n g a fo r m a k
M a j a fin n s d a r i n t e , v i k a n i n te s e A n d e r s o c h Peh r
o ch i n t e b a rk b a t e n , o ch i n t e d en a r m l o s a d o ck a n
V i h a r n a g ra b l o m m o r, s ag e r d e s s a d o d a
o c h r a cker e n k n i p p a s t ra n u t a n t o p p
e n k n i pp a s t ra n u t a n t o p p
De s o ke r s i g t i l l p o r t a r , t i l l k a m rn a rd o r r a r
d a r d e d o c k b o r d e h a v a b l i vi t i n s l a p p t a
De s l a r m e d s p o k j a r n , d e g n i ss l a r m e d v i n d n yck l a r
D e h a i l e r fr a m m i n n en , d e k n a c ka r m e d k n o t o r
m ed k n o t o r, m e d k n o t o r

0 d es s a h e m l o s a d od a !
De g o r o s s i n g e n s k a d a
d e h a i l er o s s ba ra v a k n a
De t a r b a ra s a a t t d e s a k n a r
e t t fi n g e r , e n t a , e n a r m
k a n -. k e en h e l b ro s t k o r g
�o m fo rn a o c h n u t i d a t ro l l k a r r i n g a r s t u l i t
och s t o t t t i l l m j () l f{) r n y a k :1 r l e k s fi l t e r

I ·1 ·1
"WHEN THEY SLIP OUT THROUG H THE
CHURCHYARD GATE"

When they slip out through t he churchyard gate

one E aster ni ght, one E a s ter night
When the dead ones walk out and visi t the ci ty
one moonl it night, o ne moon-night
Then eternal homelessness takes its pl ace
i ts rightful p l ace among al l the dead
The dead, they amble to thei r o l d houselo ts
little by li ttle, l i ttle by littl e :
Demol ished, co l l apsed houses-
There are no doors, no, there are no doors
There are no ki tch ens, no fron t rooms
M aj a i s not there, we can't see Anders and Pehr
nor the b ark boat, nor the armless doll
We have some flowers, the d ead people say
and offer a handful of stalks wi thout blosso1n
a handful of st alks without blo ssoms
They are drawn to the fro nt doors, to the chamber doors
where they shou ld, after all, have been admi t t ed
They pound with spooki ron, they rattle wi th atti c keys,
They proffer memori es, they kno ck with bones,
with bones, with bones

Oh these homeless dead !

They do us no harm
they only keep us awake
It is only that they are missing
a finger, a toe, an arm
perhaps an entire rib-cage
whi ch anci ent and modern witches stole
and cru shed to du st for new love-po wders

1 45
De levande gor 055 o fta ont
De dod a gor o55 i ngen 5kada
De levan de ar tarande
De doda, d e ar narande
De dod a ar narande

1 46
The living ones do u s evi l o ften
The dead ones do u s no h arm
The living ones eat things away
The dead ones, they are nourishing
The dead ones are nourishing

147
"SEDAN LANGE VILAR RIDDAREN"

Sedan l ange v i l a r riddaren

rak i sadeln
hogt i berg l andet
sa odsl i g t att ogat bavar
Underb ara vidd av b l an ande a l d rig narvarande hoj der !
Ned anfor o ch bortom sorlar fo l j es l agarna
Mot hans brost van t a r fa l ken
huvudet har den l agt mo t hans k i n d
0 forunderl iga omhet i m i t t hj arta !
- Da lyfter han h and en hogt
och fageln flyger u t
bort
H an s i t ter dar och ser den hoj a sig
i a l i t hogre och vidare ringar
H an vilar annu rak i sadeln
nar n a t ten fal ler
Fru ktade n a tt !
E fterl angtade n a t t !
"THE KNIGHT HAS RESTED FOR A LONG TIM E"

The knight has rested for a long time

s traight in the s addle
high in the mountainous l and
so d eso l ate that the eye wavers
Wonderful s tr etches of s moky hills that never co me
near !
B eneath and far off his companion s are talking quietly
Th e fal con wai t s on his breast
i t has laid i t s head on his cheek
0 strang e tenderness in my heart !
- Then he l i ft s his h and high
and the bird flies out
away
He sits there and watches i t cli mb
in gyres al ways higher and wi der
He remains straight in the s a ddle
when the night fal l s
Feared night
Longed -for nigh t !

1 49
"NAR MAN KOMMIT SA LANGT SOM JAG I
MENINGSLOSHET"

N a r m an ko m m i t sa l a ngt so m j ag i men i ngs loshet

ar vart ord ater i n t ressant :
Fynd i myl l an
so m man vander med en arkeologi sk. spad e :
Det I i l l a o rdet du
kanske en gl asparla
so m en gang h angt om h a l sen pa n agon
Det s to ra ordet j ag
kanske en fl i n tska rva
med vi l ken nagon i t a nd loshet skrapat s i t t sega
kott

1 50
"WHEN ONE HAS COME AS FAR AS I IN
POINTLESSNESS"

When one has come as far as I in pointles snes s

each word i s once more fas cinating :
Fin d s in the loam
whi ch one turns up with an archeologist's spade :
The tiny word you
perhaps a pearl of glass
th at once hung around so meone's neck
The large word I
perhaps a flint shard
some toothless person used to scrape h i s gristly
meat

1 51
"I DROMMEN HAR JAG MOTI"

I dro m men har j ag mot t

den hogre uppenbarel se
som ko m mer a tt behovas : d en progressive
A to m kri t i kern
- - - vad var det h an sade
pa tal om fra mtidens musik
och de ton ande seri erevolu t io nernas vandri ng
fran i n tet ti l l a l i t o ch t i l lbaka ?
Jag minns bar a att A * * * g ri nade som van l i g t
o c h a t t M * * * v a n d e sig i sin grav
- - - kan s ke o m 3000 ar
el ler m i n d re el ler mer
b l i r det d i n hoga lott, poet
a t t inga med d i n sj al
i de blygsa m m a b l o m mor so m fi nns kvar
med a n d ig, tan kare, a r forbehal len
den tacksa mma u ppgi ften
att so m morgonens och aftonens ingenjor
hugga u r mo l n ens karri arer
block i u mbra, rosa, vi nrott o ch safir
och mura dem till al i t hogre piedestaler
ski ftande, stand igt vackl ande
for den stj arna som al l tj amt ar pa vag

) 52
"IN DREAMS I HAVE MET"

In dreams I have met

the superior app ar ition
that wi ll co me to be necessary : the progressive
A tomcri tic
- - - what was it he said
talking about the musi c of the fu ture
and the s inging l ink revolutions wandering
fro m Nothing to A ll and b a ck ?
I only remember that A -- grinned a s usu al
and that M -- turned in his grave
- - - perhaps in 3000 years
or less or more
i t wil l be your high duty, poet
to enter with your sou l
t h e modest flowers that a r e left
while for you, thinker, i s reserved
the welcome j ob
being engineer of morning and evening
to carve out of the careers of the clou ds
blocks i n umber, rose, wine-red and sapphire
and lay them carefully to still higher pedesta l s
shifting, always rea dy to fall
for the star which is a lways moving forward

1 53
"ENSAM I NA ITEN TRIVS JAG BAST"

Ensam i n a t ten tri vs j ag b ast

en sa m med den heml ighetsfu l l a l a mpan
befriad fra n den pa t rangande d agen
boj d over ett a l d rig fa rd igt arbete
pa ti encekortens ko mb i n a t ioner. A n sen
o m a l d rig denna pa t i ence ga r u t
J a g har n a t ten p a m i g . N agonstans
sover en s l u m p over kort en . N agonstans
ar red an en sa n n i ng en gang sagd
Varfor d a oroa sig ? K a n den n agonsin
sagas mer? I t a n kspriddhet
vi i i j ag l yssna t i l l vi nden i n a t ten
t i l l koryban ternas floj ter
och t i l l de ev iga vandrarnas sprak

1 54
" I DO BEST ALONE AT NIG HT"

I do best a lone at night

alone with th e s ecrets my lamp has
set free from the day that asks too mu ch
bent over a l abor never finished
the combinations of soli taire. What then
if the soli taire always defeats me
I h ave th e whole nigh t . S omewhere
chance i s sl eeping i n the cards . Somewhere
a tru th has been said once already
then why worry ? C an i t ever
be said ag ain ? I n my absentmindedness
I wi ll lis ten to the wind in the night
to the flu tes o f the Corybants
and to the speech of the men who wander forever

1 55
from GUNNAR EKELO F :
A CONTEMPORARY MYSTI C
Ek e l o f w a s bo rn i n 1 9 0 7, a n d h i s fi rs t boo k o f poe m s ,
L n te H ou r o n En r tlz (Sen t pa jo rdc n ) , c a m e o u t i n 1 93 2
i n a p r i v a t e ed i t i o n o f t h e S pek t ru m P r e s s . Th e so­
ca l l ed " cu l t u re d eb a t e " w a s in fu l l s w i ng at t h e t i m e :
t h e bou rg eo i s h u m a n i s t i c cu l t u re w a s b e i n g a t t a ck e d
fro m t h ree s i d es - b y M a rx i s m , b y p s y c ho a n a l ys i s , a nd
b y w h a t wa s ca l l e d p r i m i t i v i s m . T h e vo i ces o f t h e
p ro p ag a n d i s t s b ro k e ag a i n s t o n e a no t h er, a n d i n t h i s
s w a r m o f h i g h , p u g n a ci o u s wo rd s E ke l o f' s La te H o u r
o n Eartl1 h a d t h e e ffe c t o f a n a c t o f s a b o t age- l o n g
p l a n n ed i n s i l en ce a n d e ffe ct i ve . U n l i ke t h e p r o pa g a n ­
d i s t s , E ke l o f u sed t h e se cre t a p p ro a c h o f t h e s a b o t e u r .
H i s a i m w a s d es t ru c t i o n o f t h e " d e a d fo r m s " i n t h e
cu l t u re , r a t h er t h a n s a l v a t i on o r p ro s e l y t i z i ng . A t t h e
s a m e t i m e, t h i s book o f po e m s represen t e d t h e fi r s t
person a l a pp l i ca t i o n o f t h e i d e a s o f s u r r ea l i s m o n
S wed i s h s o i l .
E ffe ct i ve d e s t ru ct i o n res t s u po n t h o u g h t a n d m u s t
b e p reced ed b y a t h o ro u g h k n o w l ed g e o f b o t h t h e o b ­
j e ct s to be b l o w n u p a n d t h e ex p l o s i ves to be u sed .
E k e l o f' s p a rod i es o f " c l a s s i ca l m a s t e r p i ece s , " e x ecu t ed
w i t h s co r n a n d h i d d e n l o ve, s ho wed d eep fa m i l i a r i t y
wi t h t h e m a rb l ed l a ye r s o f cl a s s i c i s m . T h e d e a d m a rb l e
b e ca me a t h re efo l d s y m bo l fo r d e a d b e a u t y , fo r wh a t
w a s d e a d i n t h e pseu d o c u l t u re, a n d fo r w h a t w a s d e a d
i n peo p l e . T h e t ech n i q u e i t se l f wa s p a rt l y i n s p i red b y
s u rrea l i s m , b u t i t w a s fa r fro m t h e i d ea o f " u n i n h i b i t ed
i n s p i r a t i o n s " w h i ch o u t l a wed a n y .u t i s t i c r e fi n e m e n t .
Ye t L a t e / l our 0 1 1 Ea r t / 1 w a s b b j e c t i ve as n o n e o f E k e i (S f' s
l a t er books w e r e . H a r s h u n s en t i m e n t a l i t y , s e l f- .1 n a l y s i s
d bg u i � e d a s a r rog a n ce w h i c h h .1 n d l ed t h e " I " w i t h a n
i m p a � s i ve s c i e n t i fi c t o n e : " I h ,1 v e �u n k fro m t h e fu n c t i o n

1 5�
of man to the fun ction of the floor rug, " indirect sa tire,
psychoanalysis, surrealist methods, aton alism, and
cacophony, all fu sed into a new whole- this was some­
th ing new. With su i cidal ruthles sness, the ego and
cu l ture were stripped of all their attra ctive di sgui ses,
of all po ssibili ties of self-d efense, and indeed a lmo st
of their very real ity; what was left b ehind was a lost
chi ld on the shore o f a sea where the bul let-ri dden s tage
sets were burning .
A ccording to the surrealist view, sp eaking with a
strong sen se of self ought to be every man ' s inalienable
right and heri tage; and i t i s thi s self-assurance whi ch the
sensationally b anal, money-making sense of shame,
alike in all ages, always tries to smother. Ri mbaud said :
"The poet ought to make himself a seer through a
thorough-goi ng, unrestrained, and conscious di sorder­
ing of all senses. All the shapes of love, pain, and mad­
ness : he searches for them himself, and, in o rder to
preserve their essen ces, makes all poisons in hi s ego
harmles s . An unspeakable tor ture under whose in­
fluen ce the poet is ch anged into the great s i ck man, the
great criminal, the great damned one- and i nto the
greatest scienti st of all . For he appro aches the unknown .
. . . The poet mu st discover a new speech- speech of
the soul to the soul, su mming up everyt hing, perfumes,
colors, sounds, thought catching thought and tugging
at i t . "
Breton, a mor alist, thought th at the gains surreal­
i s t poems won from the uncon scio u s (which was thought
to contain man's true nature) were indirectly necess ary
for the reform o f so ci ety. Follo wing Breton's thought,
Ekelof, an antimoralist, s ays in the open ing poem of
D edicatio n ( hi s second book) :

1 59
To th e overwh e l m in g a n d ge n e ra l s tup idi ty , t o th e s ta te
a n d th e laws , th e fa m ily a n d th e clw rch , l ies
a n d fea rs , w i t/1 h a tred,
I n orde r to v iola t e fal s e i n n o ce n ce , t o ravage th e
l ovely fa lse-fr o n t s , to fo rce p u ri ty to sec i ts
s ta i n s a n d reas o n t o g rasp i ts i n sa n i ty,
t o wh i te wa s h s ep u l ch re s , to a n n ih ila te
w r i tings . . . .

T h i s i s n o t o n l y t he a n a r ch i s t i c vo i ce o f R i mb a u d
a n d t h e s o c i a l v i s i o n o f p s y c ho a n a l y s i s i n co n ce n t r a t ed
fo r m , b u t a l so a perso n a l ex p e r i e n ce d i s t a n t l y re l a t e d t o
t h e o n e S t r i n d be rg h a d w h e n h e w ro t e h i s L ok i po e m s .
Ye t t h i s p a r t o f E k e l o f' s d ec l a ra t i o n wo u l d c e r t a i n l y
b e t t e r h a ve m a d e a n ep i g r a p h t o h i s fi rs t b oo k , L a t e
1-l o u r o n E a r t h . Fo r D ed i ca t i o n w a s t o be E k e l o f' s po s i ­
t i ve p ro cl a m a t i o n , a h a l f- m a g i c a l a t t e m p t " t o s i n g a l l
d e a t h fro m h i s l i fe, " t o s a ve h i m s e l f. W h i l e t h e s u r r e a l ­
i s t s co m m i t t ed o n l y t h e i r " u n co n s c i o u s " i n t h e i r po e t r y ,
E k c l o f, i n k e ep i n g w i t h h i s fu n d a m e n t a l l y r e l i g i o u s
n a t u re, wen t ba ck t o R i m b a u d a n d t h e s y m bo l i s t s . N o t
h eed i n g B re to n ' s wa r n i n g t o b e ca u t i o u s , h e co m m i t t e d
h i m s e l f w h o l l y t o t h e a t t e m p t t o a r r i v e a t a fu t u re " i n
w h i c h e t e r n a l o n e n es s s h a l l b e o u rs . " . . .
I n a n a n a l ys i s o f R i m b a u d ' s A S ea s on i n l I e l l , E k e l o f
w ro t e : " M o s t pe r so n s h a v e n eve r ben t t h e i r b o w so h <1 rd
t h a t t h e y h a d t o l i s t e n t o i t b re a k , a n d t h e d e s p a i r t h ll t
moves t h ro u g h A Seas o n i n H el l ea s i l y s ee m s u n rea l
a n d t hea t r i ca l to t hem . "

I n h i � fi ft h b o o k Fe rry ma n 's S o ns ( Fiirjcsa ns ,

,

1 9 4 I } , o n e r a n w a t c h E k e l o f � d i s t ru s t o f re a l i t y e x t e n d
'

t o a d i � t r u � t o f o u r i d e n t i t y , o u r " 1 . 1 1 Fe rryma n 's

S o n s co n ce r n � i t o:;c l f \v i t h t h e b a t t l e i n ., i d c t h e � p i r i t s
I
I
e
I
of t h o .., e I w h o w ,1 nt a p u r po .., .

l oO
 G ood and Evil, t houg h not in equal degree, live as
vampi res upon inno cence . Th e o b servation that what is
sa cri ficed in the i n cessant ci vil war of good and ev il is
instinct, and Ekelof's longing for a glimp s e of so me pl an
beyond duali sm, final ly l ed to t he th eory of three differ­
ent human type s . He describes these three types in the
i mportant poem cal led "C atego ries . " . . . The fi rst typ e
of human b eing i s th e na ive and t h e inno cent, the timid
wi ld creatures "who have not yet been tempted b y dual­
i s m . " The s e co nd ca tegory i s made up o f the masses of
morali sts, who always i dentify with what they beli eve
in, and who co mmi t themselves w holeh eartedly to the
battle o f the dragon and the kni gh t ; these people are the
commi tted, "those who are magn etized, tho se who go
into the slightest thing wi th heart and soul and fa te as
the st akes - halfway evo lved, and halfway hel d b a ck ;
fo r the m an who i s his own pro s ecu tor and his o wn
defense attorney i s also his own c_.-i minal . " The thi rd
category includes the people who have gone the fa r­
thest along the ro ad, namely, those who have passed
through the "Ju daic law of rational i s m . " . . . The thi rd
kind of human being sees even ethi cs as a form of tota l i­
ta ria n op iu m : he i s free to take a stand ( for example,
ag ainst N azi sm) but a l so free with part of hi s b eing to
refuse party i dent i fication . One cou l d say that this p er­
son is a rebel against the entire war men tal i ty, and his
hate and his b attl e are l i ke heart and destiny- mere
hostages .
The pro b lem for this third kind o f man is, natura lly,
so ci ety . A community of people becomes for him the
con s ciousness of t he loneliness of o ther people. M en
can only meet in reverence fo r one ano ther's lonel iness,
reveren ce b a sed on the real iz ation that wh at they all
have in co mmon i s what i s best in human nature, 1n

1 61
 o t h e r wo r d s , " w h a t i s g r o u n d i n yo u i s g ro u n d a l so i n
o t h e rs . " T h e m y st i c w h o t a kes " t h e i n w a rd a n d l o w e r
ro a d " a n d w h o n e ve r re n o u n ce s t h e co n d i t i o n o f h i s
fr eed o m i s i n h i s w a y a l w ay s l o y a l :

H e wh o docs i t s h a l l n ever b e des e r ted a n yw ay .

H e wh o docs i t sh a l l re m a i n l oya l a n y way .
Th e i mp ra c t ica l is th e o n ly th i n g th a t is p ra c t i ca l i n tlz c
l o n g ru n .

E k e l o f h a s a rr i ved a t h i s po s i t i o n o n l y a ft e r a c­
cep t i ng h i s o w n n a t u re m o r e w i l l i n g l y t h a n h e h a d be­
fo re a n d b y t r a n s fo r m i n g h i s wea k n e s s i n t o a s t re n g t h
i n t h e c l a s s i c m a n n e r o f t h e p o e t . W h a t o n ce s t ru ck h i m
,1 s " t h e h e l l o f i n d i ffe re n ce, " h a s b e e n m e t a n d ch a n g ed
i n t o a r i s t o c r a t i c a n d e so t e r i c d e t a c h me n t . I n t h e s a m e
s e n s e , l o n e l i n e s s w i t h i t s " i n fi n i t e a n g u i s h " h a s b e e n
d e fea t e d b y a cce p t i n g "g i v i n g u p " a s t he o n l y po s s i b l e
fo r m o f l i fe . T h e po e t n o l o n g e r i n s i s t s o n h i s a b no r­
m a l i t y ; h e i s n e i t h e r e l e c t n o r d e p r i v ed - n e i t h e r s e e r,
b l i n d m a n , n o r c l o w n . H e ca n see h i m s e l f fro m t h e o u t ­
s i d e , a s t h e mo s t t h o u g h t l ess p e rso n s s e e h i m , se re n e l y ,
a s " a n a b so l u t e l y u s e l e s s h u m a n b e i n g . "
I f o n e w i s h ed t o q u o t e a s i n g l e p a s s a g e t h a t e m ­
bod i es E k e l o f' s n e w v i e w o f t h e g e n u i n e i n d i v i d u a l a n d
h i s l i fe, o n e m i g h t c h o o s e t h e s e l i n es :

T h e n o n - m a s s- m a r.l i s d ea d , l o ng l i ve t he no n - m a s s - m a n !
L o n g I i ve t h e m a n w h o h a s t h e co u rage t o be de.1 d ,
t o b e w h a t h e i s : a t h i rd t h i n g ,
so m e t h i n g i n b e t w ee n ,
bu t yet a n a m e l e s s t h i ng o u t s i d e . . .
 G unnar Ekelof' s poetry i s diffi cu l t . The ti me, mo re­
over, has not l ent i t self to a fu l l understanding o f his
origin ality. It is pri mari l y the remarkable beauty of h i s
poems t h a t i s responsible for t h e h i g h position he h o l d s
among Swed ish po ets of today. I n t h i s inves tig ation I
h ave virtu al ly passed over the so ci al and esthetic points
of view and h ave set myself merely to s ho w the inner
continuity of his d evelopment . . . .
Fro m many ang l es, Ekelof has b een the "odd"
poet among tho se who matured in the thirties. I n part,
he has stood out as the unfashionable one ; yet he em­
bodies in his person ality so m ething of what the o ld
orthodox romanti cs u s ed to talk abou t. H e has drawn
bold concl usions fro m hi s " thinking emo tional l i fe . "
Thi s has given his private experi ences an unu sual range
and has p ermitted him to throw new l ight onto the
probl e m of personal ity. H e has given the defense o f
individualism a deeper and more personal voi ce than
has any ot her of the con temporary S wedi sh poet s .
Through hi s courage in pursuing a line of thought
when i t was i mportant, and in b eing and accepting him­
self E kelof has at ti mes reached the sub l i me . H e has
maintained his independence and his freedom and a t
t h e s ame time has been ready t o pay for t h e m . F o r "in
order to b eco me yourself you have to look into the face
of truth, though both the tru th and your face will end
up b attered . "

Eric Lindegren
Tra n s la ted by Robert B ly

1 63
 . .

TOM A S T R A N S TROME R
To mas Transtro mer seems to me the best poet to appear
in Sweden for some years . H e comes fro m a long line of
ship-pilots who worked in and around the S to ckhol m
Archipelago . H e i s at home on i sland s . His face is thin
and angular, and the swift, spare face reminds one of
Hans C hri stian Andersen's or the young Kierkeg aard ' s .
He h a s a s trange genius for t h e image- images come
up almost effortlessly. The i mages flow upward like
water rising in some lonely place, i n the swamps, or
deep fir woods .
Swedish poetry tends to be very rationat and there­
fore open to fads . S wedish magazines often fil l them­
selves with ab stract hallucinatory poetry, typewri ter
po etry, alphabet poetry- poems that are really the
nightm ares of overfed linguists, of log i ca l positivi sts
with a high fever . Transtromer, simply by publishing
his books, leads a movement of poetry in the opposite
direction, towards a po etry of s i l ence and depths .
Transtro mer, who was b orn in 1 9 3 1 , pub l i shed
hi s first book, 1 7 Poems, in 1 9 5 4 . H i s next book, Secre ts
on th e Road, contain ed fourteen poems, and he pub­
l i shed that four years later . In 1 9 6 2, after another gap
of four years, he pub l ished Half- Fin ish ed Heaven , w i th
twenty-one poems, fifty-two poems i n all in about
ten years. With many English and American po ets, this
number of poems i s considere d to be about six months'
work . In 1 9 6 8 he publ ished a new book, Res o na n ce a n d
Tra cks . The first seventeen poems were enough for h i m
t o be recogni zed by many cri ti cs as t h e finest poe t of
his genera tion .
Tomas T ranstromer' s independ ence also shows
itself in his choice of work . H e does not teach, o r edi t
for Bonniers . H e w a s for some years a psy chologist a t

1 67
t h e bo y s ' p r i so n i n L i n kop i n g . H e h a s recen t l y moved
t o V a s t e r a s, w h e re h e d o es so m e w h a t s i m i l a r wo rk . H e
i s m a rr i ed , a n d h a s t wo d a u g h t e r s . Th e b o y s h e co u n ­
se l ed a t L i n ko p i n g e v i d e n t l y re t a i n a l i ve l y i mpres s i on
o f h i m . S o m eo n e s e n t m e a c l i pp i ng fro m Sweden re­
ce n t l y, w h i ch r e co u n t ed t h e a d ven t u res of a you t h w h o
h a d e s ca p ed a s h o rt t i m e b e fo r e fro m t h e L i n ko p i n g
r e fo r m a t o r y . I t t ra n s p i red t h a t h e reg i s t e re d i n v a r i o u s
S wed i s h h o t e l s a n d m o t e l s a s ' 1 . T r a n s t ro m er, p s y­
ch o l og i s t . "
T h e poe m ca l l e d " A fte r a De a t h " i s s u re l y s o m e
so r t o f b r i e f m a s t er p i e ce, a n d m o r e m o v i n g t h a n a n y
p o e m w r i t t e n b y a n A m e ri c a n o n P re s i d e n t K e n n ed y 's
d e a t h . To m a s T ra n s t ro m er ' s u n cl e d i ed a t nea r l y t h e
s a m e t i m e , a n d To m a s h a s s a i d t h a t bo t h d e a t h s be­
c a m e m i ng l ed i n t h e p o e m . He m en t i o n s i n t h e l a s t t wo
l i n e s a s u i t o f J a p a n es e a r m o r i n t h e S t o ck ho l m M u s e u m ,
a n d s a y s o f d ea t h , "Th e s a m u r a i l o o k s i n s i g n i fi c a n t
b es i d e h i s a r m o r o f b l a ck d r ago n s ca l e s . " Th a t is
m ag n i fi cen t . ,
O n e o f t h e n {o s t bea u t i fu l q u a l i t i es i n h i s po e m s i s
t h e s p a ce we fee l i n t h e m I t h i n k o n e rea s o n fo r t h a t
.

i s t h a t t h e fo u r o r fi ve m a i n i m ag e s ·w h i ch a p pe a r i n
e a c h o f h i s poe m s co m e fro m w i d e l y s e p a r a t ed sou rces
in t h e p s y c h e . H i s poe m s a re a s o r t of ra i l wa y s t a t i o n
w h e re t ra i n s t h a t h a ve co m e e n o r m o u s d i s t a n c e s s t a nd
b r i e fl y i n t h e s a m e b u i l d i n g . O n e t r a i n m a y h a ve s o m e
R uss i a n s n o w s t i l l l y i n g o n t h e u n d e rca rri age, a n d a n ­
o t h e r m a y h a ve M ed i t e r ra n ea n fl o wers s t i l l fre s h i n t h e
co m p a r t m e n t s , a n d R u h r soot o n t h e roo fs .
T h e poe 1 n s a re m y s t e ri o u s beca u se o f t h e d i s t a n ce
t h e i m a g e s h a v e co m e t o get t h e re . M a l l a r m e be l i eved
t h e re s h o u l d be m y s t e r y i n poe t r y, J n d u rg ed poe t s t o
get it, if necess ary, by removing the l inks that tie the
poem to its o ccasion in the real worl d . In Transtro mer's
poems, the link to the worldly o ccasion i s stubbo rnly
kept, and yet the poems have a mystery and surpn se
that never fade, even on many reading s .

Robert B l y

Other Transtromer Poems i n English :

Fifteen Poems, translated by Eric Sellin, New Direc tions A mw n l,

No. 1 9, 1 96 6 .
Twenty Poe m s o f Tom ns Trn ns tro m e r, translated b y Robert B l y
(Madison, Minnesota : The Seventies Press, 1 9 7 1 ), out of
print.
Nigh t Vis ion, translated by Robert B l y ( N orthwoods Narrows,
New Hampshire : Lillabulero Press, 1 9 71 ) .
Windows n n d S ton es : S ele cte d Poe m s, translated b y May
Swenson with Leif Sj oberg ( P i ttsbt·.rgh, Pennsyl vania :
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1 972).

1 69
from

1 7 DIKTER (17 Poems) 1954

HEMLIGHETER PA VA G EN (Secre ts
o n th e Road) 1958

DEN HALV FARDIG A HIMLEN

( Th e Half- Fin ish ed H eaven ) 1962

KLANGER OCH S PA R (Res ona n ce a n d

Tra cks) 1966
KV ALL- MORGON

M anens mast har m u rk n a t och seglet skryn kl a s .

M asen svava r d ru cken bort over vattnet.
B ryggans tunga fyrkant a r ko l n a d . S n aren
d i g n a r i mork ret .

U t pa trappa n . G ryn i ngen s l a r och s l a r i

havets gras tensgri n d a r och so len spra kar
n a ra varlden . H a l vkvavda so m m a rgudar fa m l a r i sj oro k .

1 7 :!
EVENING - MORNING

The moon-mast has rotted, and the sail cri nkled.

The seagull sails drunk above the water .
The thick dock-cube i s charred . Bushes crouch do wn in
the dark .

Out on the stoop . The sunri s e i s opening and slamming

granite gates of the o cean and the sun sparkles
near the world. H alf-suffo cated sum mer go ds grope
in the seasmoke.

1 73
SKEPPARHISTORIA

Det finns barv i n terdagar da havet a r s l a kt

med bergs trakter, h ukande i gra fj aderskrud,
en kort mi n u t blatt, l a nga t i mmar med vago r som blek a
lod j u r, fafa ngt sokande faste i strandgruset.

E n sadan dag gar val vraken u r h avet o ch seker

sina redare, bankade i staden s l ar m, och d ru nknade
besattningar b l a ser mot l a nd , tu nnare an piprok.

( I norr gar de ri ktiga lodj u ren, med vassta klor

och drommande ogon . I norr dar d agen
bor i en gruva bade dag och n a t t .

D a r d e n ende overl evande far s i t t a

v i d norrskenets u g n o c h l yssna
t i l l de ihj a l fru snas mus i k . )

1 74
SAILOR'S TALE

There are stark wi nter days when the sea has links
to the mountain areas, hunched over in feathery
grayness,
blue for a moment, then the waves for hours are like pale
lynxes, trying to get a grip on the gravelly shore .

On a day like that wrecks leave the sea and go looking

for
their owners, surrounded by no ise i n the ci ty, a nd
drowned
crews blow toward land, more deli cate than
pipe-smoke .

( I n the Far North the rea l lynx walks, with sharpened

claws
and dream eyes. I n the Far North where the day
lives in a pit night and day.

There the sole survivor sits by the furna ce

of the Northern Lights, and l i s tens to the musi c
co ming fro m the men frozen to deat h . )

1 75
 0

HAN SOM VAKNADE AV SANG OVER TAKEN

• •

Morgon, maj reg n . S t aden ar annu sti l l a

so m en fabod . G a torna sti l l a . O c h i
h i mlen mu l l rar b l c]gront en flygp l ansmotor . ­
Fonstret a r oppe t .

Dro m men dar d e n sovande l igger u tstrackt

bl i r d a geno mski n l i g . H an ror sig, borj ar
treva eft er uppmarksamhetens verktyg-
n a s t an i ry mden .

l 7b
THE MAN AWAKENED BY A SONG
ABOVE HIS ROO F

Morning, M ay rai n . The ci ty is s i lent still

as a sheepherder's hu t . Streets silent. And in
the sky a pl ane mo tor i s rumbling blu i sh-green . ­
The windo w i s open .

The dream of the man s tretched out sleeping

becomes at that ins tant transp aren t . H e tu rns, begins
to grope fo r the tool of his consciou sness -
a lmost in space .

1 77
SPAR

Pa n a t ten k lockan tva : mansken . Taget h ar stann a t

m i t t ute pa s l atten . L angt borta l j u spu nkter i e n stad,
fl i mrande kal l t vid synranden .

So m nar en mann i ska gatt i n i en d ro m sa dj upt

att hon a l d rig ska m i nnas att hon var d ar
nar hon a tervander t i l l s i t t rum .

Och so m nar n agon gatt i n i en sj u kdo m sa djupt

att a l i t so m var h an s dagar b l i r n agra fl i mrande
punkter, en svarm,
kal l och ringa vid syn randen .

Taget s t ar fu l l ko m l igt s t i l l a .
K lockan t va : s tarkt mansken, fa stj a rnor.

1 78
TRACK

2 A. M. : moonlight . The train has stopped

out i n a field . Far off sp arks o f l ight fro m a town,
fli ckering co ldly on the horizon .

A s when a man goes so deep into his dream

he will never remember that he was there
when he returns again to his roo m .

Or when a person goes s o deep into a s i ckness

that h i s days all become some fli ckering sparks, a
sw arm,
feeble and col d on the horizo n .

T h e train i s entirel y motionless .

2 o ' clo ck : s trong moonlight, few star s .

1 79
K YRI E

I b l an d slog m i t t l iv upp ogonen i morker.

E n kans l a som o m fol k m asso r d rog geno m gatorna
i b l i ndhet och oro pa v ag t i l l ett m i rakel,
med an j ag osyn l igt forbl i r staende.

So m b a rnet so m n a r i n med skrack

l yssnande t i l l hj artats t unga steg .
L angt, L 1ngt t i l l s morgonen sat ter stra l arna i l asen
och morkrets dorrar oppna r sig .

1 80
KYRIE

At times my life suddenly opens its eyes in the d ark.

A feeling of m a s ses of people pushing blindly
through the streets, ex citedly, toward some miracle,
whil e I rem ain here and no one sees me.

I t is like the child who fal l s asleep in terror

l i stening to the heavy t humps of his hear t .
F o r a long, long t i m e ti ll morning puts hi s light in the
l o cks
and the doors of darknes s open.

181
BALAKIREVS DROM ( 1 905)

Den svart a flygeln, den g lansande spindeln

stod darrande m i t t i s i t t nat av musik.

I kon sertsalen tonades fra m ett l and

dar stenarna i n te var tyngre an d agg .

M en B alakirev somnade under musi ken

och dro mde en drom om tsarens d roska .

Den ru l l ade fra m over ku l l erstena r

rakt i n i det krakkraxande morka .

H an satt ensam i n ne i vagnen och sag

men sprang anda bredvid pa vagen .

H an visste att resan hade varat l ange

och h ans klocka vi sade ar, inte ti mmar.

Det var ett fai t dar plogen lag

och plogen var en fagel so m stort a t .

Det v a r en vik dar fa rtyget l ag

i n fruset, s l a ckt, med fo lk pa dacke t .

Droskan gled d i t over i sen o c h hj u l en

spann och spann med ett l j u d av s i l ke.

E t t mindre krigsfartyg : "Sevastopo l " .

H a n var ombord . B esa t t n i ngsman kom fra m .

1 82
BALAKIREV'S DREAM ( 1 905)

The black grand-pi ano, the gleamy spi der,

stood quivering in the centre of i ts mus i c net .

Th e sounds in the concert roo m co mposed a l and

where stones were no heavier than dew.

B al akirev though fel l asleep during the music

and in his dream he saw the Czar's carriage.

I t was ro lling over the cobbl estones

and straight on into the croaking, cawing night.

H e was sitting alone ins ide the cab watching,

also he was running alongside on the road.

H e knew the trip had been long already,

and the face on his watch s ho wed years, no t hours .

A field appeared i n whi ch a plough stood,

and the plough was a b i rd j u s t leaving the ground .

A b ay appeared where a destroyer stood,

i ce-locked, l ights out, people on deck .

The carri age rolled away over i ce, the wheel s

spinning and spinning wi th a sound like silk.

A des troyer of the second cl ass : Sevas tap o l .

He was on i t . The crew came to ward h i m .

1 83
"Du s l i pper do o m d u kan spel a . "
De vi sade ett egendo m l i gt i nstrumen t .

Det l i knade e n tuba, el l er e n fonograf,

e l ler en del av nagon okand m a sk i n .

S tel radd och hj alplos forstod h a n : d e t ar

det i nstru ment so m d r i ver orlogsskeppen .

H an vande sig mo t den n armaste m a t rosen,

tecknade fortvi v l a t med h an den o ch bad :

"gor korstecknet som j ag, gor korstecknet ! "

M atrosen sti rrade sorgset so m en b l i nd,

strackte u t armarna, huvudet sjonk n ed ­

han h angde l i kso m fa stspikad i l u ften .

Tru m morn a s log. Tru mmorna slog . A pp l ader !

B a l a ki rev vaknade upp u r s i n d ro m .

A ppladernas vingar smattrade i salen .

H an sag m annen vid flygeln res a sig upp.

U te lag gatorna morkl agda av s trej ken .

Droskorna ru l l ade hastigt i morkre t .

M i l i j B a l aki rev
1 83 7 - 1 9 1 0 , rysk tonsa t t are

1 �4
" I f you can pl ay, you wo n't h ave to die. "
Then they showed him an amazing in strumen t .

I t looked l i ke a tub a, or a n o l d phonograph,

or a section of some unhe ard-o f m a chine.

Helpless and afraid, suddenly he realized : i t i s

t h e device th at i s u sed to po wer n aval ship s .

He turned to the sailor s tan ding neare s t,

wave d his hand in despair, and s ai d :

" I mitate me, m ake the sign o f the cro ss, make the sign ! "
The s ailor stared ful l o f grief like a blind man,

opened his arms out, let his head fal l­

he hung there as if nai led to the air.

Here are the drums . H ere are th e drums . Applause !

B a l akirev woke up fro m his d ream.

Appl ause-wing s were fl apping about the room.

He watched the man at the grand pi ano s tand up.

Outdoors a s trike had d arkened the ci ty street s .

C arri ages for hire rolled swiftly through t h e night.

M ilij Bal akirev ( 1 8 3 7 - 1 9 1 0 )

Russian co mposer

1 85
EITER ANFALL

Den sjuka poj ken .

Fast l ast i en syn
med tu ngan s tyv so m ett horn .

H a n s i t ter med ryggen vand mo t t avlan med sadesfa l tet .

B and aget kri ng kaken fo r tanken t i l l b a l s a meri ng .
H a n s glasogo n ar tj ocka som en dykares . Och a l l t i ng
ar u t an sva r
och h a ft igt so m nar tel efonen ri nger i mo rkret .

M en tavl a n bako m . Det a r ett landskap som ger ro fas t

saden ar e n gyl lene storm.
B l aeldsbla h i m me l och drivande mol n . Darunder i det
gula sva llet
seg l a r nagra vita skjorto r : skordema n - de kasta r i nga
skuggor .

Det star en man l angt borta pa fa l tet och tycks se h i t a t .

En bred h a t t skymmer h ans ansi kte.
Han tycks betrakta den morka ges tal ten har i ru mmet,
kanske t i l l hj alp.
Om arkl igt har tavlan borj at vidga sig och oppnas
bako m d en sj uke
och forsj u n kne. Det gn i s trar o ch ha mrar. Varj e ax a r
t a nt s o m fo r att va cka hono m !
Den and re- i sad e n - ger ett tee ken .

H a n h ar n a r mat s i g .
I ngen s e r det .

I Bb
A FTER THE ATTACK

The s i ck boy.
Locked in a vision
with tongue s ti ff as a horn .

H e sits with h i s back tow ard the painting of a

wheatfiel d .
The b andage around h i s j aw reminds o n e of an
embalming .
H i s spectacles are thick as a diver's . Nothi ng h as any
answer
and is sudden as a tel ephone ringing in the nig ht.

B u t the p aint ing there . It i s a landscape that makes one

feel peaceful even tho ugh the wheat is a
golden stor m .
B lue, fie�y b l u e s k y an d driving clou d s . B eneath in the
yellow waves
some white shirts are s ai ling : threshers- they cast
no shado w .

At the far end of t h e field a man seems t o be looking t h i s

way. A b ro ad hat l eaves his fa ce in shadow .
H e seems to look at the dark shape in the room here,
as t houg h to help.
G radually the painting begins to s tretch and open
behind the boy who is s i ck
and sunk in h i mself. I t thro ws sp arks and makes no i s e .
Every wheathead thro ws off l i g h t as if to
wake hi m up !
The other man- in the wheat- makes a sign .

He has co me nearer.
No one noti ces i t .

187
PARET

De sl acker l a mpan och d ess v i t a kupa ski mrar

ett ogonb l i ck innan den loses u pp
so m en tablett i ett g l a s marker. Sed a n lyft a s .
H otel lets vaggar skj u ter upp i h i m melsmo rkret .

Karlekens rorel ser h a r moj n a t och de sover

men deras hem l igaste tankar mots
som nar tva farger mots o ch flyter i n i varann
pa det v a t a papperet i en sko l poj ksmaln ing .

Det ar morkt och t ys t . M en staden h a r ryckt narmare

i n a t t . M ed sl ackta fonster. H u sen kom .
De star i hoptrangd v a n t a n m ycket n a ra,
en folkmassa med u t t ryckslosa ansi kten .

1 88
THE COU PLE

They tu rn the light off, and i ts white globe gl o ws

an ins tant and then d i s solves, l ike a tablet
i n a gl ass o f d arkness . Then a rising .
The hotel walls sh oot up into heaven's darkness .

Their movements have grown softer, and they sleep,

but their most secret thoughts begin to meet
l i ke two colors that meet and run tog ether
on the wet paper in a s choolboy' s p ai n ting.

I t i s dark and s i lent . Th e ci ty however has co me nearer

tonight . Wi th its windows turned off. Houses have
come.
They stand packed and waiting very near,
a mob of people with blank faces .

1 89
LA MENTO

H an lade i fran s ig pen n a n .

Den v i l a r s t i l l a pa bo rdet .
Den v i l a r s t i l l a i to m ru m met .
Han l ade i fran sig pen n a n .

For mycket so m va rken kan skri v as el ler fort igas !

H a n a r l a mslagen av nagot som ha nder l angt borta
fast den underba ra kappsacken d u n ka r so m ett hjarta .

U tanfor ar forso m maren .

Fran gronskan kom mer vissli ngar- m a n n i skor el l er
fag l a r ?
Och korsbarstrad i b lo m k l appar o m l a s tb i l arna som
ko m m i t hem.

Det gar veckor.

Det blir l angs a m t n a t t .
M a larna satter sig pa ru tan :
sma bleka telegra m fran varlden .

) QQ
LA MENTO

He puts the pen do wn .

I t lies there withou t moving .
I t lies there wi thou t moving in empty space .
H e puts the pen down .

So mu ch that can neither be wri tten nor kep t inside !

H i s body is stiffened by something happening far away
though the curiou s travel ing kit beats like a hear t .

Outsi de, t h e late spring .

Fro m the foliage a whis tling- people or bird s ?
And the cherry trees i n bloom hug the heavy tru cks
coming b a ck .

Weeks go by .
S lowly night come s .
M o t h s settle down on t h e pane :
small pale mess ages fro m the worl d .

191
ALLEGRO

J ag spel ar H aydn efter en svart dag

och kanner en enkel varme i h andern a .

Tangen terna vi i i . M i l da h a m m are s l a r .

K l a ngen ar gron, l i v l i g o c h sti l l a .

K l a ngen sager a t t fri heten finns

o ch a t t n agon i n t e ger kej saren ska t t .

J a g kor ner handerna i m ina hayd nfickor

och harmar en som ser lugnt pa varlden .

J ag h i ssar haydnflagga n- det betyder :

' 'V i ger oss i n t e . Men vi i i fred . "

M u siken a r ett g l ashus pa slu ttn i ngen

dar stenarna flyger, stenarna ru l l ar.

Och stenarna ru l l ar tva rs igeno m

men varj e ru ta forb l i r hel .
ALLEGRO

A fter a black d ay, I play Haydn,

and feel a li ttle warmth in my h and s .

The keys are ready. K i n d hammers fall .

The sound i s spiri ted, green, and full o f si lence .

The sound s ays that freedom exi sts

and someone pays no tax to C aesar.

I shove my hands in my haydnpockets

and act like a man who i s cal m about it all.

I raise my h aydnflag . The signal i s :

"We do not surrender . B ut w ant peace . "

The mu s i c i s a house o f glass s tanding o n a slope ;

rocks are flying, ro cks are rolling.

The ro cks roll stra ight through the house

but every pane of glass i s sti l l whole.

1 93
DEN HALVFARDIGA HIMLEN

Mod losheten avbryter s i t t lopp .

A ngesten avbryter s i t t l opp .
G a men avbryter sin flykt .

Det ivriga lj uset rinner fram,

aven spokena tar sig en klunk.

Och vara m a l n i ngar kom mer i d agen,

vara i s t idsatelj eers rod a dj ur.

A II ting borj ar se sig omkring.

Vi gar i solen hund rata l s .

V a r mann i ska e n h a l voppen dorr

so m Ieder t i l l ett ru m for a l i a .

Den oand l iga marken under oss .

Vattnet l yser mel l a n traden .

I n sjon ar e t t fonster mot j orden .

THE HALF-FINISHED HEAVEN

Cowardice breaks off on its path .

Angu i s h breaks off on its path.
The vu l ture breaks o ff in i t s flig h t .

The eager l i g h t runs into t h e op en,

even the ghosts t ake a drink .

And our painting s see the air,

red beasts of the i ce-age s tudio s .

Everything st arts t o look around .

W e g o out i n the sun b y hundred s .

Every person i s a h alf-open door

leading to a room for everyone .

The endless field under us .

Water glitt ers b etween the trees .

The l ake i s a window into t he eart h .

1 95
N OCTURNE

J ag kor genom en by om n a tten, husen stiger fra m

i stralkastarskenet - de ar vakna, d e vi i i d ricka .
H u s , l ador, skyl tar, herrelosa fordon- det a r nu
de i k l ader sig Livet . - M a nn i s korna sover :

en d e l k an sova fr i d fu l l t , andra har spanda anlet sdrag

so m om de l ag i h ard tran i ng for evigheten .
De vaga r i n te sl appa a l i t fa st dera s somn a r tung .
De vi lar som fa l lda bom ma r nar mysteriet d ra r forbi .

U t anfor byn gar vagen Hinge mel l a n skogens trad.

Och traden t raden t ig a nde i endrakt med varan n .
D e har e n teat ral isk farg so m fi nns i eldsken .
Vad deras lov ar tyd l iga ! De fol j er mig anda hem .

Jag l i gger o ch ska so mna, j ag ser okand a b i l der

och tecken klottrande sig sj a l va bakom ogo nlocken
pa mork rets vagg . I springan mel l an vakenhet och d ro m
forsoker et t stort brev tranga s ig i n fo rgaves .
NOCTURNE

I drive through a vi ll age at night, the houses step ou t

into t he headlights- they are awake now, they want a
drink.
Houses, barns, nameposts, deserted trailers- no w
they take on life . Human beings sleep :

some can sleep peacefully, others h ave tense fa ces

as though in hard training for eternity.
They don't dare to let go even in deep sl eep .
They wait like lowered g ates while the mystery ro lls
past.

Outside town the ro ad sweeps on a long time through

the forest .
Trees, trees s ilent in a p act with each other .
They h ave a melodramatic color, like trees in a fire !
How clear every leaf i s ! They follow me all the way
home.

I lie about to fal l a sleep, I see unknown images

and signs sketching themselves behind the eyel i d s
on t h e w a l l of the d ark. I n t h e s l o t between w aking
and sleep
a l arge letter tries to get in without quite su cceeding .

1 97
UR EN A FRIKANSK DAG BOK ( 1 963}

P a d en k o n g o l es i s ke h o t o rg s tn a l a re n s t a v l o r
r o r s i g gest a l t e r n a t u n n a sa m i n s e k t er , b e ro v a d e s i n
m an n i s ko k r a ft .
D e t a r d en s v a r a p a s s agen Ine l l a n t v a s a t t a t t l ev a .
D e n s a m a r fr a m m e h a r e n L 3 n g v a g a t t g a .

E n u n g m a n fa n n u t l a n n i n gen sa m g a t t v i l se b l an d
h y d d o rn a .
H a n v i s s t e i n t e o n1 h a n v i l l e h a h o n o n1 sa m v a n e l l er
sa m fo r e n1 a l fo r u t p re s s n i n g .
Tvc k s a m h e t e n g j o r d e h o n 0 1n u p p ro r d . D e s ki l d es i
fo r v i r r i ng .

E u ro p e e r n a h a i l e r s i g a n n a rs k r i n g b i l e n sa m vore d e n
M amma.
C i k a d o r n a a r s t a rk a s a m ra k a p p a r a t e r . B i l c n k o r h e m .
S n a r t ko m m e r d c t s ko n a mo r k r e t s a m t a r h a n d o m
s m u t s k l a d er n a . S o v .
D e n sa m a r fra m m c h a r en l a n g v a g a t t g a .

O c t k a n s k c hj a l p c r mcd c t t fl y t t fa ge l s s t r a c k a v
h a ndskakn i nga r .
Oct k a n s k c h j a l pc r a t t s l a p p a u t s a n n i ngen u r bo ckcr n a .
O c t a r n o d v a n d i g t a t t g a v i d a rc .

S t u d e n t c n l a s e r i n a t t e n , I :i s c r o c h l a se r fo r a t t b l i fri
och cft e r cx a m cn fo rv a n d l a s t i l l e t t t r a p p s t eg fo r n a s t e
man.
E n sva r passage.
Den som :i r fra m m c h a r e n l a n g v :i g a t t g .1 .
FROM AN A FRICAN DIARY ( 1 963)

In the painting of the kitsch Congo l ese arti sts

The figures are skinny as insects, their hu man energy
saddened .
The road fro m one way o f life to ano ther i s hard .
Those who are ahead h ave a long way to go .

A young A fr ican found a touris t lost among the hut s .

H e couldn't decide whether t o m ake hi m a fri end or
obj ect o f bl ackmail .
The indeci sion upset h i m . They parted in confusion.

Europeans huddle around their cars as if the cars were

M am a .
C i cadas are s trong as ele ctric razors . The cars go back .
Soon the lovely darknes s co mes and washes the di rty
clothes . S l eep .
Tho se who are ahead h ave a long way to go.

Perhaps a migratory flo ck of h andshakes would help .

Perhaps letting the truth escape fro m books wou ld help .
We h ave to go farther.

The s tuden t studies all night, stud ies and studies so

he can b e free.
When the examination i s over, he turns into a stair-rung
for the next man .
A hard ro ad .
Tho s e who are ahead have a long way to g o .

1 99
MORGON FAGLAR

Jag vacker bi len

so m har vindrutan o verdragen med fro mj o l .
J ag satter pa m i g sol g l asogonen .
Fagelsangen morknar .

M edan en annan man koper en tidni ng

pa j arnvagsstationen
i n arheten av en stor godsvagn
so m ar a l ldeles rod av rost
och star fl i mrande i solen.

l nga to mru m n agonstans har.

Tvars genom varv armen en kal l korridor

dar nagon kommer skyndande
och bera ttar att man forta l a t honom
anda upp i styrelsen .

Genom en bakdorr i l andskapet

ko mmer skatan
svart och vit, Hels fagel .
Och ko l t rasten som ror s ig kors och tvars
t i l l s a l i t blir en ko l teckni ng,
utom de vita kl aderna pa tvattstrecket :
en palestrinakor.

l nga tomru m nagonstans h a r.

2 00
MORNING BIRD SONGS

I wake up my car;
pollen covers the wind shiel d .
I p u t m y d ark glasses o n .
The b i r d songs a l l turn dark.

Meanwhile so meone i s buying a paper

at the railro a d st ation
not far fro m a big freight car
reddened all over wi th ru st.
I t shimmers in the sun.

The whole universe i s ful l .

A cool corridor cu ts through the spring warmth ;

a m an comes hurrying past
describing how someone right up in the main office
has b een telling lies about him .

Through a backdoor in the lands cape

the magpie arrives,
black and white, b ird of the death-goddess.
A b l a ckbird flies back and forth
until the whole s cene b eco mes a ch arco al drawing,
except for the whi te clo thes on the l ine :
a Palestrina choir.

The whole u niverse is full !

201
Fantastiskt a t t kanna h u r m i n d ikt vaxer
med a n j ag sj a l v krymper .
Den vaxer, den tar m i n pl ats .
Den tranger undan m i g .
Den k a s t a r m ig u r boet .
Di kten a r fard ig.

202
Fant a s t i c to feel how my poem i s growing
while I myself a m shrinking .
I t 's getting b igger, i t ' s t aking my place,
it's pres sing against me.
I t has shoved me out o f the nest .
The poem i s finished.

2 03
ENSAMHET
I
H ar var j ag nara att o m ko m ma en kva l l i februari .
B i len gled s i d l edes p a h a lkan, u t
p a fel s i d a av vagen . D e motande bilarna­
deras lykto r- ko m nara .

M i t t namn, m i n a fl i ckor, m i t t j obb

losgj orde sig o ch blev kvar t ys t bakom,
a l i t l angre bort . J ag var a nonym
som en poj ke pa en sko lgard o mgi ven av fiender.

Mota nde trafi k h ade va ldiga l j us.

De l yste pa mig med an j ag styrde och styrde
i en genomsk i n l ig s krack so m flot som aggvita .
Seku nderna vaxte- m an fick ru m d a r-
de blev stora som sj u khu sbyggn a der.

Man kunde nastan stanna upp

och andas u t en stund
i nnan man krossades .

Da uppstod et t faste : ett hj a l pande sandkorn

el ler en un derbar vi ndstot . B i len ko m loss
och kral ade snabbt tva rs over vagen .
En sto l pe skot upp o ch kn acktes- en skarp kl ang- den
flog bo rt i morkret .

Ti l l s det b l ev st i l l a . J ag satt kvar i sel en

och sag hur n agon ko m geno m snoyra n
fo r a t t se vad det b l ev av m i g .

2 0 -1
SOLITUDE
I
Right here I was nearly killed one night in February .
My car sl ewed on the i ce, sidew ays,
into the o ther lane. The onco ming cars­
their headlights- came nearer.

My name, my d aughters, my j ob
slipped free and fel l b ehind silently,
fart her and farther b a ck . I was ano nymous,
l ike a s choolboy in a lot surrounded by enemies.

The appro aching traffi c had powerful light s .

They shone on m e whi l e I turn ed and turned
the wheel in a tran sparent fear that moved like eggwhi te .
The seconds lengthened out- making more roo m-
they grew long as ho spital building s .

I t fel t as if you could j u s t take i t easy

and loaf a bit
before the s mash came .

Then firm l and appeared : a helping s andgrain

or a marvelous gust of wind. The car took hold
and fish-tailed b a ck a cro s s the road .
A signpost shot up, snapped off- a ringing soun d­
tossed into the dark .

C ame all quiet. I s a t there i n m y seatbelt

and wat ched so meone tramp through the blo wing snow
to see what h ad become of me.

205
 II

J ag har gat t omkring l a nge

pa de fru sna ostgo tska fal ten.
l ngen manniska har vari t i sikte.

I andra del a r a v va rlden

fi nns de so m fod s, lever, dor
i en standig fo l k tra ngsel .

A t t a l i t i d vara synl ig- l eva

1 e n svarm av ogon-
. . . . .

maste ge ett sarski l t ansiktsuttryck .

A ns i kte overd raget med lera.

M u m l andet st iger och sj u nker

medan de delar upp mel i a n sig
h i m l en, skuggo rn a, sandko rnen .

J ag maste vara ensam

tio m i n uter pa morgonen
och t i o minu ter pa kva l ien .
- U t a n progra m .

A l i a star i k o hos a l i a .

Flera .

En.

20b
 II

I have been walking a while

on the frozen Swed i s h fields
and I have seen no one.

I n other parts of the world

peopl e are born, l ive, and die
in a constant human crush .

To be vi sible all the ti me- to live

in a swarm of eyes-
surel y that leaves i ts mark on the fa ce .
Features overl aid with clay .

The l o w vo i ces rise and fal l

as they divide up
heaven, shadows, grains of s and .

I h ave to be by myself
ten minutes every morning,
ten minutes every night,
- and noth ing to b e done !

We all l ine up to ask each other for help .

Millions .

One.

207
EITER NAGONS DOD

Det v ar en gang en chock

so m l a m n ade e fter sig en l an g, b l ek, ski mrande
kometsv a n s .
D e n hyser oss . D e n g o r TV -b i ldern a suddiga.
Den avsatter sig so m k a l l a droppar pa l u ft l ed n i ngarn a .

M an kan fortfarande h asa fra m p a skidor i vinterso len

mel l an d u ngar dar fj o l arsloven h a nger kva r.
De l i k n a r b l ad ri vna u r gaml a telefonka t aloger­
abo n nen ternas n a mn uppslu kade av kol d en .

Det ar fortfarande sko n t a t t kann a s i t t hj arta bu l t a .

M en oft a kanns skuggan verk l igare an kroppen .
Samura j en ser obetyd l ig u t
bredvid sin rustni ng av svart a drakfj al l .

2 0�
AFTER A DEATH

Once there was a shock

that left behind a long, shi mmering co met tai l .
I t keeps u s inside. I t makes t h e TV pi ctures snowy.
It settles in cold drops on the telepho ne wire s .

O n e can s t i l l g o slowly on ski s in t h e wi nter sun

through brush where a few l eaves hang on.
They resemble pages to rn fro m old telephone di rectories .
Names swallowed by the col d .

I t is still beau tiful t o feel t h e heart beat

but often the shadow seems more real th an the bo dy .
The samurai looks in significant
beside his armor of bl ack dragon scales .

209
UNDER TRYCK

Den bla h i mlens motord a n a r starkt .

Vi ar narvarande pa en arbetsplats i d a r m i ng,
d a r havsdj upe t plots l i g t kan uppenbara sig ­
snackor och telefo ner susa r .

Det skona h i n ner man bara s e hast igt fran s i d a n .

Den tata saden pa a kern, m anga farger i en gu l strom .
De o rol iga skuggorna i m i t t h u vu d dras d i t .
D e vi i i krypa i n i saden och forvan d l a s t i l l guld .

Morkret fal l er. V i d m i d n a t t gar j ag t i l l sangs.

Den m i ndre ba ten s a t ts ut fran den storre baten.
M a n ar en sam pa v a t t net .
S a m h a l lets morka sk rov dri ver a l i t l a ngre bort .

210
UNDER PRESSURE

Powerful engines fro m the blue sky.

We live on a construction site where everything shivers,
where the o cean depths can suddenly open .
A hum in seashells and telephones .

You can see be auty if you look quickly to the side.

The heavy grainfields run together in one yellow river .
The restless shadows in my head want to go out there.
They want to crawl in the grain and turn into something
gol d .

Night finally. A t midnight I go to b e d .

T h e dinghy s e t s o u t from t h e ship .
On the water you are alone.
The d ark hull of so ciety keeps on going .

21 1
OPPNA OCH SLUTNA RUM

En man kanner pa varlden med yrket som en handske.

H an vi lar en stund m i t t pa d agen o ch har l agt i fran sig
h andskarna pa hyl l an .
Dar vaxer d e plotsligt, breder u t sig
och mo rkl agger hel a hu set i n i fran .

Det morklagda huset ar m i t t u t e bl and varvi ndarn a .

"A mnesti " gar v i s kn i ngen i graset : " arnn e st i " .
En poj ke spri nger med e n osyn l ig l i n a so m gar snett
upp i h i m l en
d ar hans v i l d a drom o m fra m t i d en flyger som en d rake
sto rre an forstaden.

Langre norru t ser man fran en hoj d d en b l a oandl iga

barrskogs m a t t a n
dar mo l n skuggorna
star st i l l a .
Nej , flyger fra m .

212
OPEN AND CLOSED SPACE

With his work, as with a glove, a man feels the universe.

A t noon he rests a while, and l ays the gloves aside
on a shelf.
There they suddenly start growing, gro w huge
and make the whole house d ark fro m inside .

The darkened house i s out in the April win d s .

A mnesty/' the grass whi spers, amnesty. "
II II

A boy runs along with an invi sible string which goes

right up into the sky.
There his wild dream of the future flies like a kite,
bigger th an his to wn .

Further to the north, you see fro m a hill the blue

matting of fir trees
on which the shadows of the clouds
do no t move .
No, they are moving .

2 13
I DET FRIA
1
Sen hostl abyri n t .
Vid skogens i ngang en bortkas t ad to m fl aska.
G a in. Skogen a r tysta overg i vn a lokaler sa h ar a rs .
B ara nagra fa s lags l j u d : so m o m n agon fl yt tade kvi s t ar
forsikt igt med en pincett
e l l er ett gangj arn so m gnyr svagt i nne i en tjock sta m .
Frosten h ar andats p a svamparna och de h a r skru mpna t .
D e l i kn a r forem al och pl agg som h i t tas efter forsvu nn a .
N u ko mmer skym n i ngen . Det g a l ler a t t h i n n a u t
och aterse sina ri k t marken : det rostiga red skapet ute
pa a kern
o ch hu set pa andra sidan sjon, en rodbru n fyrka n t stark
so m en b u l jongtarn i ng .

214
OUT IN THE O PEN
1
Late autumn l abyrinth .
On the porch of the woods a thrown--away bottle .
G o i n . Woods are silent abandoned houses this ti me
of year .
Just a few sound s now : as if someone were moving
twigs around carefully w i th pincers
or as if an iron hinge were whining feebl y inside a
thi ck trunk .
Fro s t h as breathed on th e mus hroo ms and they have
shrivelled up .
They look like obj ects and cloth ing left behind by peop le
who 've dis appeared .
The dusk here already . The thing to do now i s to get out
and find the l andmarks again : the rusty m a chine out
in the field
and the house on the other side o f the l a ke, a reddi sh
square intense as a bullion cub e .

215
 2

Ett brev fran A meri ka satte igang mig, drev u t mig

en l j u s natt i j un i pa tomma ga tor i forstaden
bland nyfodda kvarter utan m i n n e, sval a som ri tningar.

B revet i fickan . Osaliga rasande vandri ng, den ar ett

sl ags forbon .
H o s e r h ar det onda och god a verkligen ansi kten .
Det som hos oss mest a r en k a mp mel l an rot ter,
s i ffror, d ag r ar.

De so m gar dodens arenden skyr inte d agsljuset .

De styr fran g l a svan i ngar. De myl lrar i solgasset .
De l u t ar sig fra m over disken och vrider pa huvudet .

Langt bo rta rakar j ag stanna fra m for en a v de nya

fasadern a .
M anga fonster som flyter i h op ti l l ett en d a fon ster.
N a t t h i m l ens l j u s fangas i n dar och t radkro nornas
vandring.
Det ar en spegl ande sjo utan vagor, u pprest i
so m m a rn a t ten .

V a i d kanns overk l igt

en kort stund .

2 lb
 2

A letter from A meri ca drove me out ag ain, s t arted me

w alking
through the lu minou s June night i n the e mpty suburban
s treets
among newborn dis tri cts wi thou t memories, coo l as
blueprints .

L etter in my pocket. You wild, raging walking, you are

a kind of prayer fo r o thers.
Over there evil and good actually h ave fa ces .
For the most p art with u s i t ' s a fight bet ween ro ots,
nu mbers, shades of ligh t .

The people who d o death's errands for hi m don't shy

fro m daylight .
They rul e from glass offi ces. They m ill about in the
bright sun.
They lean forward over a table, and thro w a look to
the s i de .

F a r off I found myself s tanding i n front of o n e of the

new building s .
M any windows flowed together there into a single
window.
In i t the luminous nightsky w as caught, and the
walki ng tree s .
I t w a s a mirror-like l ake w i t h n o waves, turned on edge
in the su mmer n igh t .

Violence seemed unreal

for a few momen t s .

217
 3

Solen branner. F l ygpl anet gar pa lag hoj d

och kastar e n skugga i for m a v et t stort kors so m ru sar
fra m pa m arken.
En manniska s i t ter pa fa l tet o ch rotar.
Skuggan ko m mer.
U nder en brakde ls sekund ar han m i t t i korset .

J ag har set t korset so m h anger i sval a kyrkvalv.

Det l i knar ibland en ogonb l i cksb i ld
av nago t i haftig rore l se .
 3

Sun burning . The p lane comes in low

throwing a shadow shaped like a gi ant cro s s that
rushes over the ground .
A man i s si tting in the field poking at something .
The s hadow arrives .
For a fraction of a second he i s right in the centre of
the cross.

I have seen the cro ss hanging in the cool church v aults .

A t times it resembles a split-secon d shot o f something
moving at tremendous speed .

219
LANGSAM MUSIK

B yggnaden ar stangd . Solen t ranger i n genom

fonsterrutorna
o ch va rmer upp ova n s i d a n pa skri vborden
so m ar starka nog att bara m a n n i skoodens tyngd .

Vi ar ute i dag, pa den l anga v i d a s l u t t n i ngen .

M anga har morka k l ader. M an kan sta i so l en oc!1
blund a
o c h kanna hur man l angsa m t b l a ser framat .

J ag ko mmer for s a l l a n fra m t i l l va t tnet . M en nu ar

j ag har,
b l and stora stenar med fri d fu l l a ryggar.
Stenar som l c1ngs a m t vandrat bakl anges upp u r
vagorn a .

2 20
SLOW MUSIC

The building not open tod ay. The sun crowds in through
the wi ndowpanes
and warms the upper side of the desk
whi ch i s strong enough to bear the fate of o thers.

Today we are outdoors, on the long wide slope.

Some have d ark clothes. I f yo u stand in the sun, and
shut your eyes,
you feel as if you were being slowly blown forwar d .

I co me too seldom down t o the s e a . B u t now I h ave

co me,
a mong good-sized s tones wi th pea ceful backs .
The s tones h ave been gradually walking b a ckwards
out of the sea.

221
fro m

M O RKE RSE E NDE (Nigh t Vis i o n ) 1 970

and
So me New Poems
NAMNET

J ag bl i r somnig u nd er b i l fard en och kor i n u nder t raden

vid s i d an av vagen . R u l l ar i hop m ig i baksatet och sover .
H ur l ange ? T i m m a r . M orkret hann fal l a .
Plotsligt ar j ag vaken och kanner i nte igen m i g .
K l a rv aken , m e n det hj a l per i n te . Var ar j ag ? VE M ar
j ag ? J ag ar nan t i ng so m vaknar i et t b aksate, snor o m ­
kri ng i panik s o m en ka t t i en s ack . Vern ?
A n t l igen kom mer m i t t l i v t i l lbaka. M i t t na mn
ko mmer som en a ngel . U t an for murarna b l a ser en tru m­
petsignal (som i Leonorauvertyren ) och de raddande
s tegen kommer snabb t snabbt nerfor den a l l t fo r langa
trappan . Det a r j ag ! Det ar j ag !
M en omoj l igt a t t glom ma d e fem ton sekundernas
kamp i glom skans helvete, n agra meter fran stora
vagen dar trafi ken g l i der forb i med pasl ag na l j u s .

224
THE NAME

I got sleepy while driving and pulled in under a tree at

the side of the ro ad . Rol led up in the b a ck seat and went
to sleep . How long ? H ours . D arkness had come.
All of a sudden I was awake, and d i dn't know w ho
I was . I 'm fully conscious, but that doesn't help . Where
am I ? WHO am I ? I am something that has j u s t woken
up in a back seat throwing i tself around i n pani c like
a cat in a gunnysa ck . Who a m I ?
After a long while my l i fe co mes back to me . M y
name co mes t o m e like a n angel . O u tside t h e castle walls
there i s a trumpet blast ( a s in the Leonora O vertu re)
and the foo ts teps that will save me com e q u i ckly quickly
down the long staircase. I t' s me com ing ! I t' s m e !
But i t i s i mpo ssible to forget the fifteen-second
battle in the hell of noth ingnes s, a few feet from a major
highway where the cars s l ip p as t with their l ights
dimmed .

225
NAGRA MINUTER

Den !aga tal len pa myren h a i l er upp s i n krona :

en mork trasa .
Men det man ser ar i ngen t i ng
mo t rot tern a, det u t sparrade, dol t krypande, ododl iga
e l ler ha lvdo d l iga
rotsystemet .

J ag du hon h a n forgren ar sig ocks a .

U t anfor d e t man vi l l .
U t an for Metropo l i s .

U r d e n mj o l kv i t a som ma r h i mlen fa l ler e t t regn .

Det kanns som om m i n a fern s i n nen var kopplade t i l l
e n ann an va relse
som ror sig l i ka ha lsst arrigt
som de l j uskladda loparna pa ett s t adion dar
morkret strilar ner.
A FEW MOMENTS

The dwarf pine on marsh ground ho lds its head up :

a d ark rag .
B ut what you see i s no thing compared to the roo ts,
the widening, secretly groping, deathl ess or half­
deathless roo t system .

I you she h e a l s o p u t roots o u t .

Outside o u r co mmon wil l .
Outside t h e C i ty.

Rain drifts from the summer sky that's p al e as milk .

I t i s as i f my five senses were hooked up to som e o th er
creature
that moves with the s ame s tubborn flow
as the runners in white circli ng the track as the night
co mes misting in.

227
ANDRUM JULI

Den som J i gger pa rygg under de hog a tr aden

a r ocksa d a ruppe. H a n rann i l ar sig u t i t u sen t al s
kvi s tar,
g u ng a r fra m och t i l l baka,
si tter i en k a t a pu l tstol som gar loss i u l trarapi d .

Den som s t a r nere vid b ryggo rn a k i sa r mot v a t tnen .

B ryggorna aldras fortare an m a n n i skor.
De h a r s i l vergrat t vi rke och s ten ar i m agen .
Det b l a nd a nde l j u set s l ar a n d a i n .

Den s o m fard as h e l a dagen i oppen bat

over de gl i t trande fj ardarna
ska so mna t i l l sist inne i en bla l a mpa
med a n oarna kryper so m stora n a t t fj ari l a r over glaset .

2 2�
BREATHI NG SPACE JULY

The man who lies on his back under huge trees

is also up in them. He branch es out into thousands of
tiny br anches .
He sways b a ck and forth,
he sits in a ca tapult chair that hurtles forward in slo w
motion.

The man who stand s down at the do ck s crews u p his

eyes against th e water.
O cean do cks get older faster th an men.
They have si lver gray posts and boulders in their g u t .
The dazzling l i g h t drives straight in.

The man who spends the who l e day in an open boat

moving over the lu minous b ays
will fall as l eep at last inside the shade of h i s blue l a mp
as the i s l ands crawl like hug� moths o ver the glob e .

229
MED ALVEN

Vid samtal med s a m t i d a sag horde j ag bakom deras

a n s i kt en
strom men
som rann och rann och drog med sig v i l l iga och
motvi l l iga .

Och varel sen med igen kl i strade ogon

so m vi i i ga m i t t i forsen medstroms
kastar s ig rakt fra m u t an att skalva
i en rasande h u nger efter enkel het .

A l i t strid are vat ten drar

so m dar alven s m a l n a r och gar over

i forsen- p l atsen d a r j ag rastade
efter en resa genom torra skogar

en j u n i kva l l : Transis torn ger det sen aste

om ext rasessionen : Kosyg i n , Eban .
Nagra fa t ankar borra r fo rtvivl a t .
N agra fa manni skor borta i byn .

O ch un der h a ngbron stort a r vattenm assorna

fo rbi . Har ko m mer t i mret . N agra t ran
styr som torpeder rakt fra m . A n d ra van der
pa tvaren, snu rrar t rogt och h j a l plost han

och n agra nosar sig mot alvens strander,

styr in bland sten och bra te, k i l a s fast
och tornar upp sig d �i r so m knappta h�i nder

230
GOING WITH THE CURRENT

Ta lking and ta lking with friends I saw hea rd beh ind

their fa ces
the current
dragging with it those who want to go and those
who don ' t .

A n d I s a w a creature with its eyes g lued together

who wants to leap right into the middle of the stre a m
throw himself out without a shiver
in a ravenous thirst for the si mple answer.

Fas ter and faster the water pul l s

as when a river n arro ws down a n d shoo t s over

into rapids- I stopped to rest at a spot l ike that
after a drive throug h dry woods

one eveni ng i n June : the transistor told me the l atest

on the Extra S es sion : Kosygin, Eban.
One or two thoughts bored their way i n despairingly.
One or two men down i n the v i l lage.

And huge masses of water plough by under the

suspens ion
bridge. Down comes the timber ! Some trunk s
j us t shoot straight ahead l ike torpedoes. O th ers turn
crossways, s luggi sh, and spin helplessly away,

and others follow their no se onto the riverb ank,

steer in among stones and ru bb i s h, get wedged,
then i n a pile turn up to ward the sky like fol ded hand s,

prayers drowned in the roar . . .

231
 sag horde j ag fran h a ngbron
i ett mo l n av mygg,
t i l lsammans med n agra poj kar. Dera s cyklar
b egravda i gronskan- b ar a hornen
s tack u p p .

232
 I saw heard it fro m a suspension bridge
i n a cloud of gnats
toget her wi th a few boys . Their b i cycles
buried in the bushes- only the ho rn s
stood up .

233
UTKANTSOMRADE

M an i overdragskl ader med s a m ma farg som m arken

ko mmer u pp ur et t d i ke.
Det ar ett overgangso mrade, dod l age, varken stad
e l l er l a nd .
B yggn adskranarna vid hori son ten vi i i t a det stora
spranget men klo ckorna vi i i i n te.
Kringkastade cemen tror lapar l j u set med torra tu ngo r .
B i l pl atverkstader i n rymda i fore detta lag iudar.
Stenarna kastar skuggorna skarpt so m foremal pa
manytan .
Och de p l atserna bara v ax er.
So m det man ko pte fo r judas' penga r : " K rukmakara kern
t i l l begravn i ngspl ats for fra m l i ngar. "
OUTSKIRTS

Men in overalls the s a me color a s earth ri s e from a di tch .

I t ' s a transitional p l a ce, in stalemate, nei ther country
nor ci ty.
Cons truction cranes on the horizon want to t ake the
big leap, but the clocks are against it.
Concrete piping s cattered around laps a t the light wi th
cold tongues.
Auto-body shops o ccupy old barn s .
Stones throw shadows as sharp a s obj ects on the moon
surfa ce .
A nd these sites keep on getting bigger
like the land bought with Judas' silver : a field to be
u

used as a cemetery for s tranger s . "

235
TRA FIK

Langtrad aren m ed sl apvagn kryper genom di mman

och ar en stor skugga av t rol l s l an d an s l arv
som ror sig i gru mlet pa i nsj ons bot ten .

S t ralkas tare mots i en d rypande skog .

M a n kan i n t e se den and res a n s i kt e .
Lj usfloden stort ar geno m barren .

Vi kom mer skuggor fordon fran a l i a h a l l

i skymn i ngen, g a r sam man efter varann
forb i vara nn, gl ider fra m i ett nerskruvat l arm

ute pa slatten dar indu striern a ruvar

och byggn adern a sj u n ker tva m i l l i meter
om aret- mar ken slukar dem sakt a .

Oiden t i fierade tassar s a t ter s i n a avt ry ck

pa den bl ankaste prod ukt so m d roms fra m har.
Fron forsoker l eva i asfa l ten.

M en forst kastanj etraden, dystra so m om

de forbered de en blomning av j a rnh andskar
i s t a l let for vita kolvar, och bako m dem

bo lagets t j a nsteru m- e t t lysror i olag

bli n k a r b l i n ka r . De t finns en lonndorr h a r . O ppna !
och se in i det omvanda per i skopet

nera t , mot mynningarna, mo t de dj upa roren

d a r algern�1 vaxer som de dod a s skagg
och Stadaren d ri ver i sin drakt a v slem

2 36
TRAFFIC

The s emi-trailer crawls through the fog .

I t i s the lengthened s hadow o f a dragonfly l arva
crawling over the murky l akebo ttom.

H eadlights cro ss ah1ong dripping br anche s .

You can't s e e the other driver's fa ce .
Light overflows through the pines .

We h ave co me s hadows chassis fro m all directions

in failing light, we go in tandem after each other,
past each other sweep on in a modest roar

into the open where the industries are broo d ing,

and every year the factory buil dings go down another
eighth o f an inch- the earth i s gu lping them s lo wly .

P aws no one can i dentify leave a print

on the glossiest art ifacts dreamed up here .
Pollen is determined to live in asph a l t .

But t h e horsechestnut trees l o o m up first, mel anchol y

as if they intended to produce clusters o f iron gloves
rather than white flowers, and past them

the reception room- a fluorescent light out of order

blinks off and on. Some magic door is around here !
Open !
and look downward, through the reversed peri s cope,

down to the great mout hs, the huge buried pipes

where algae i s growing like the beards on dead men
and the C leaner swi ms on in hi s o ver co a t of slime

237
med a l i t mattare si m t ag, pa vag a t t kva vas .
Och i ngen vet h u r det ska ga, bara a t t ked j a n
bryts o c h fogas i hop igen stand ig t .

238
hi s strokes weaker and weaker, he will be choked soon .
And no one knows what will happen, we only know
the chain breaks and grows b a ck toge ther all the t i m e .

239
NATI]OUR

I n a t t ar j ag nere hos barlasten .

Jag a r en av de tigande tyngderna
som hindra r sku tan att stj a lpa !
Otyd l iga a n s i k ten i morkret som stenar.
De kan bara vasa : " ror mej i nte. "

II

A ndra roster tranger pa, l yssnaren

g l i de r som en smal skugga over rad ions
sj a l v l ysande band av s t a tioner.
Spraket marsch era r i takt med bod l a rn a .
Darfor maste v i h a mt a ett n y t t spra k .

III

Vargen a r h a r, a l i a t i m marn a s va n
och han ror vi d fonst ren med s i n tunga .
Dalen a r fu l l av kra l a nde yxskaft .
N a t t flyga rens d a n ri nn er over h i mlen
trogt, so m fran en ru l l s to l med hj u l av j a rn.

IV

M a n graver upp staden. Men det ar tys t n u .

U nder a l m a rna p a kyrkogarden :
en t o m grav m a ski n . S kopan mot m arken ­
gesten hos en so m somn a t over bordet
med kn y t n a ven fra mfor sig. - K l o ckri ng n i ng.

240
NIGHT DUTY

During the night I am down there with the ballast

I am one of tho se dead wei ghts that say no thing,
that keep the sloop from turning o ver !
Fuzzy-edged faces in the dark, like s tone s .
A l l they can do i s hi s s : "Don't touch me . "

II

And o ther voi ces p u sh through, the listener

i s slipping over the luminous radio
dial l i ke a s lender shadow .
The l angu age marches i n p erfect step wi th the boots .
Therefore : go ou t and pick a new language !

III

The wolf i s here ! Our helper and fri end !

and against the windows he l ay s h i s tongue .
The valley i s ful l of crawling axe-handles .
The night j et ro ars over the sky
as i f it were a wheel-chair runn ing on i ts ri m s .

IV

They are di gging the pl ace up. But i t ' s quiet now.
I n the emp ty cemetery under the elms :
an emp ty steam s ho vel . I ts bucket on the ground­
like a m an fal len a sleep at a table,
his fis t thrown forward . Church b el l s .

241
DET OPPNA FONSTRET
J ag s tod och rakade mig en morgon
fra m for det oppna fons t ret
en trappa upp .
K n a ppte igang rakappa raten .
Den borj ade spinna .
Den su rrade starkare och sta rkare .
Vaxte t i l l e t t dan .
Vaxte t i l l en hel i kopter
och en rost - p i lo tens- t rangde fra m
genom danet, skrek :
" H a l l ogonen oppna !
Du ser det for sista gangen . "
V i l yfte.
Flog lagt over so m m aren .
Sa mycket jag tyckte o m , har det nan t yngd ?
Duss i n t a l s d i alekter av gron t .
Och sarski l t det rod a i trahu svagga rna .
Skalbagga rn a b l an kte i dyngan, i so len .
K a l l a re so m d ragi ts upp med rot terna
ko m geno m l u ften .
Verksa mhet.
Tryckpressa rna kra l ad e .
just nu var manni skorna
de enda som var st i l l a .
De hol l e n tyst minu t .
Och sarsk i l t d e doda p a lant kyrokgarden
var st i l l a
so m nar m a n satt for en b i l d i ka merans barndo m .
F l yg l agt !
Jag visste intc vart j ag
vande m i t t huvud­
mcd dcl a t syn fa l t
so m en hast .
242
THE OPEN WINDOW

I shaved one morning standing

by the open window
on the s econd s tory.
Switched on the razo r .
I t started t o h u m .
A heavier a n d heavier whi rr .
G rew t o a roar.
G rew to a hel i copter.
And a voi ce- the pilot' s- pierced
the noi se, s houting :
"Keep your eyes open !
You 're seeing thi s for the last time ! "
Rose.
Floated low over the summer .
The s mall things I love, what do they amoun t to ?
So many variations of green.
And especi ally the red of hou sewa ll s .
B eetles glittered i n the dung, in t he sun .
Cell ars pulled up b y t h e roots
sailed through the air.
I ndu stry .
Printing p res ses crawled along .
People at that instant
were the only th ings motionles s .
They held their minute of silence .
And the dead i n the churchyard especially
held still
like t hose who po sed i n the infancy of t he ca mera .
Fly low !
I didn't know whi ch w ay
to turn my head-
my s ight was divided
l ike a horse' s .
243
PRELUDIER

Jag skyggar for nago t som kom mer hasande pa

tva ren i snogloppet .
Frag men t u r det so m ska ko mma .
En losbru ten vagg . N agon ting u t a n ogon. H a r t .
E t t ansi kte av tander !
En ensa m vagg . E l ler finns huset d a r
fas t j ag i nte s e r det ?
Fra mti den : en arme av tom m a h u s
so m letar sig fra mat i snogloppe t .

II

Tva s a nn i ngar narmar s i g varan n . E n kom mer ini fran,

en ko mmer u t i fran
och d a r de mots h ar man en chans att fa se sig sj a l v .

Den so m marker v a d so m hal ler pa a t t h a n d a rop ar

fo rtvi vl a t : "Stan n a !
vad so m heist, bara j ag s l ipper k an n a mig sj al v . "

O ch det fi n n s e n ba t so m vi l l l agga t i l l - forsoker

j u s t h ar-
d en ko m mer att fo rso ka tusen t a l s ganger .

U r skogens morker ko m mer en lang batshake, skj uts

in geno m det oppn a fo n s t ret,
in bland pa rtygast ern a so m d a n s a t sig va rma .

244
PRELUDES

I shy from something that comes scraping cro ssways

through the blizzard .
Fragment out o f what i s to come.
A wal l gotten loose. So mething eyeless. H ard.
A face of teeth !
A wall, alone. Or i s a house there,
even though I can't see i t ?
The future . . . a n army o f emp ty houses
feeling t heir way fo rward in the falling s no w .

II

Two tru ths approach each other. One co mes fro m insi de,
the other fro m ou tside,
and where they meet we h ave a chance to catch sight
of ourselves .

The man who sees what's about t o t ake p la ce cri es

ou t wildl y : "Stop !
A nything, i f only I don't have to know my self. "

And a boat exists that wants to tie up on shore- it's

trying rig ht here-
in fact it will try thousands of times yet.

Out of the d arkness of the wood s a long bo athook

appears, pokes in through the op en window,
in among the gu ests who are getting w arm dancing .

245
 III

Va ni ngen dar j ag bodde sto rre delen av l i vet ska u trym­

mas. Den ar nu to md p a a l i t . A nkaret har sl appt- trots
att det fortfarande rader sorg a r det den l attaste van ing­
en i hela stan . Sanni ngen behover i ng a mobler . J ag h a r
rest ru n t l i vet ett varv o c h a terko m mi t t i l l u tg angs­
pu nkten : ett u rbl ast ru m . S aker j ag vari t med o m h ar
v i s a r s i g pa vaggarna som egypt i ska m a l n i ngar, scener
pa i n s i d a n av en gravkam mare. M en d e u tpl anas a l it mer.
Lj u se t ar n a m l i gen for starkt. Fons tren har b l i vi t s torre .
Den tom m a va n ingen ar en s tor kikare so m ri ktas mot
h i mlen . Det ar tyst so m en kvakaran dakt . Det som
hors ar bakgard arnas d u vo r, d eras ku ttrand e .

24b
 III

The apartment where I l ived over half o f my life has to

be cleaned ou t . I t's already empty of everything . The
an thor has let go- despi te the continui ng weight of
grief i t i s the lightest apartment i n the whole ci ty . Tru th
doesn't need any furni ture. M y life has j u st co mpl eted
a big ci rcle and co me b a ck to its starting place : a roo m
blown ou t . Things I 've lived throug h here become
visible on the walls like Egypti an p aintings, murals
fro m the inside of the grave ch amber. But the scenes
are growing fainter, because the light is getting too
strong . The windows h ave got l arger. The empty apart­
ment is a large teles cope held up to the sky. It is silen t
a s a Quaker service. A ll you can hear are t h e doves in
the b a ck yard, their coo ing.

247
U P PRATI

I e t t ogo n b l i ck a v k o n cen t ra t i o n l y ck a d es j a g fa n g a
ho n a n, j ag s tod m ed d e n i h a n d ern a . U n d e r l rg t , d en
k a n d es i n t e r i k t i g t l ev a n d e : s t e l , t o r r, en v i t fj a d e r p r y d d
g a m m a l d a m h a t t so n1 s krek u t s a n n i n g a r fr a n 1 9 1 2 .
A sk a n h a n gd e i l u ft e n . F r a n p l a n ko r n a s teg e n d o ft s o m
n a r m a n o p p n a r e t t fo t o a l b u m s a a l d e rs t i g et a t t m a n
i n t e l a n g r e k a n i d e n t i fi e r a. p or t r a t t e n .
J a g b a r h o n a n t i l l i n h ag n a d e n o c h s l a p p t e h e n n e .
H o n b l ev p l o t s l i g t n1 y c k e t l e v a n de, k a n d e i g e n s i g o c h
s p r a n g e n l i g t r eg l er n a . H o n sg a r d e n a r fu l l a v t a b u . M en
m a r k e n o m k r i n g a r fu l l a v k a r l e k o ch av s i s u . Ti l l h a l ft en
o v e rv u x en a v g ro n sk a n e n l ag s t en m u r . N ar det s k y m m er
borj a r s t en a rn a l ys a s v a g t a v d e n h u n d ra a r i g a v a r m e n
fr a n h a n d e r n a so m bygg d e .
V i n t e r n h a r v a r i t s v a r m e n d e t a r so m m a r n u o ch
m a rk e n v i i i h a o s s u p p r a t t . F ri a m en v a r s a m m a, s o m
n a r m a n s t a r u p p i e n s m a l b a t . O c t d yk e r u p p e t t m i n n e
fr a n A fr i k a : v i d s t ra n d en a v C h a r i , m a n g a b a t a r, e n
m yc k e t v a n l i g s t a m n i n g , d e n a s t a n b l a sv a r t a m a n n i ­
s k o r n a med t re pa ra l l e l l a a r r p a va rdera k i n d e n ( S A RA­
s t a m m en ) . J a g ar v a l ko m men o m bo rd - e n k a n o t av
morkt t r a . D e n ar fo rv a n a n s v a rt r a n g l i g , o c k s a n a r
j ag s a t t e r m i g p a h u k . E t t ba l a n s n u m m e r . O m h j a r t a t
s i t t e r p a v a n s t e r s i d a m a s t e m a n ! u t a h u v u d e t n a go t a t
h o g e r, i n g e n t i n g i fi c ko r n a , i ng a s t o r a g e s t e r , a l l ret o r i k
m a s t c l a m n a s k v a r . j u s t d c t : r e t o r i kcn a r o m o j l i g h a r .
K a n o t en g l ider ut p .1 v a t t n c t .

2 ·1 �
STANDING UP

I n a split-second of hard thought, I managed to catch

her . I stopp ed, holding the hen in my hand s . S trange,
she d idn't really feel l iving : rigid, dry, an old white
plume-ridden ladies' hat that shri eked out the truths of
1 9 1 2 . Thunder in the air. A n odor rose fro m the fen ce­
boards, as when you open a photo album that has got
so old that no one can identify the people any longer .
I carri ed her b a ck inside the chi cken netting and let
her go . All of a sudden she came b ack to life, she knew
who she was, and ran off according to the rul es. H en­
yards are thi ck with t aboo s . But the earth all aroun d i s
full of affection a n d tenacity. A l o w stone w a l l h a l f
overgrown w i t h leaves . When d u s k begins t o fall the
stones are faintly luminous with the hundred-year-old
warmth from the hand s that built it.
I t's been a hard winter, but summer i s here and the
fields want us to walk uprigh t . Every man unimp eded,
but careful, as when you stand up in a small bo at . I
remember a d ay in A fr i ca : on the b anks of the C h ari,
there were many boats, an atmosphere po sitively
friendly, the men al most blue-black i n color w i th three
parallel scars on each cheek ( meaning the S ara tribe) .
I am wel comed on a boat - it's a canoe hollowed fro m a
d ark tree. The canoe i s incredibly ro cky, even when you
sit on your heels. A b al ancing act . I f you h ave the heart
on the left side you have to l ean a bit to the right, no thing
in the po ckets, no big arm movements, please, a l l
rhetori c h a s to be left behind . I t ' s neces sary : rhetoric
will ruin everything here . The canoe gli des out over the
water .

249
BOKSKA PET

Det h a m t a d e s fr a n d en d o d a s v a n i ng . D e t s t o d t o m t
n a g ra d a g a r , t o n1 t , i n n a n j ag fy l l d e d e t m ed ba cker, a l i a
d e i n b u n d n a , d e t u n g a . I o ch m e d d e t h a d e j a g s l a pp t i n
u n d e rj o rd e n . N ag o t ko m u n d e r i fr a n , s t eg l a n g s a m t o ch
o bo n h o r l i g t so m e n o fa n t l i g kvi ck s i l verp el a re . M a n
fi ck i n t e v a n d a b o r t h u v u d e t .
De m o r k a vo l y m e r n a , s l u t n a a n s i k t e n . D e l i kn a r
a l g er i e r n a s o m s t o d vi d zo n o v e rga nge n Fri e d r i ch s t ra s se
o ch v a n t a d e p a a t t Vo l ks po l i ze i s k u l l e g r a n s k a p a s s e n .
M i t t ege t p a s s l ag sen l a n ge i n n e b l a nd g l a sb u r a r n a .
O c h d i m m a n so m fa n n s i B erl i n d e n d a r d agen , d e n
fi n n s o c k s a i n n e i b o k s k a p e t . O c t fi n n s en g a m m a l
fo r t v i v l a n d a r i n n e , d e t s m a k a r P a s s c h en d a e l e o ch Ver­
s a i l l e s fred e n , det s m a k a r a l d re an s a . D e s v a rt a , t u n g a
l u n t o r n a - j ag a te r ko m m e r t i l l d e m - d e a r i sj a l v a
verket e t t s l ag s p a s s o c h d e a r s a t j o ck a d a r fo r a t t m a n
sa m l a t pa s i g s a manga s t a m p l a r geno m a r h u n d raden a .
M a n k a n t yd l i gen i n t e res a med n og t u ng t bag a g e , n u
n a r d e t b a r a v , n a r m a n :i n t l i g e n . . .

A l i a d e ga m l a h i s t o ri k e r n a a r d a r, d e fa r s t i g a u pp
d a r o c h se i n i v a r fa m i l j . l n g en t i n g hors m en l a p pa r n a
ro r s i g h e l a t i d en ba k o m g l a se t ( P a s s c h e nd a e l e
" " . .).
M a n ko m m er a t t t a n k a pa e t t a l d r i g t a m betsve r k ( n u
fo l j e r e n ren s p o k h i s t o r i a ) , e n bygg n a d d a r po rt r a t t
a v l a ng e sen d a d a m a n h :i ng e r b a ko m g l a s o ch e n mor­
gan v a r d e t i m m a p a i n s i d a n a v g l a s et . De h a d e b o r j a t
a n d a s u n d e r n a t t en .

250
THE BOOKCASE

It was moved out of the apartment after her de ath . I t

stood empty several days, before I p u t the books in, al l
the clothbound ones, the he avy ones . So mehow during
it all I had a l so let some grave earth slip i n . Something
came fro m underneath, ro se gradually and implacably
like an enormous mercury column . A man was not to
turn his head away.
The dark volumes, faces closed . They resembled
the faces of those A lger i ans I saw at the zone border at
Friedri chs trasse waiting for the East G erman People's
Pol ice to sta mp their i dentity books . My o wn pass book
lay for a long time in the gla ss cubi cles . And the dusky
air I saw that day in Berlin I see again i n the bookca se .
There i s some ancient despair in there, tha t ta s tes of
Passchendaele and the Versailles Peace Trea ty, maybe
even older than tha t . Those massive black tome s - I
co me back to them- they are i n thei r way passports
themselves, and they have got so thick because p eople
have had to collect so many official stamps on them ov er
centuries. Obviously a man can ' t overesti mate the
amount o f b aggage he' s expected to have, now that it's
s tarting to go, now that you finally . . .
All the old hi s torians are there, they get their
chance to stand up and see into our family life. You
can't hear a thing, but the lips are moving all the time
behind the pane ("Pa sschendaele" . . . ) . It reminds me of
t hat tale of an ancient office build ing ( this is a pure
ghos t s tory) , a bu i lding where portraits of l ong dead
gentl emen hung o n the wall behind glass, and one
morning the office workers found some mi st on the
inside of the glass. The dead had begun to breathe during
the night .
251
 Bokskapet ar anda makt igare. B l i ckarna tvars over
zongransen ! En ski mrande hi nna, den ski m rande h innan
pa en mork alv so m ru mmet maste spegla sig i. Och
man far i n te vand a bort huvudet .

.2 5 2
 The bookcase i s even s tronger . Looks straight from
zone one to t he nex t ! A g l i mmery skin, the glimmery
ski n on a dark river that the room has to see i t s own
face i n . And turning the head is not allowed.

253
POSTERINGEN

J ag beordras u t i en hog med s tenar

som ett forna m t l ik fran j am itldem .
De andra ar kvar i t a l tet och sover
utstrack ta so m ekrar i ett hj u l .

I t a ltet harska r kami nen : e n stor orm

so m sva l t ett klot av eld och vaser.
M en det ar tyst ute i varn a t ten
b l and ka l l a stenar so m bidar l j uset .

Har ute i ko lden borj a r j ag flyga

so m en scha man, j ag flyger t i l l hennes kropp
med de vita fl a ckarna efter baddrakten .
Vi var m i t t i so len . M ossan var het .

Jag stryker l a ngs va rma ogonblick

men fa r i n te stanna d a r lange .
De visslar mig t i l lbaka geno m ry mden-
jag kryper fra m bland sten arn a . H a r och nu.

U ppdrag : a t t vara d a r man ar.

Ocksa i den loj l iga, grava l lvarl iga
rol l en- j ag ar j u st den plats
d a r skapel sen a rbet ar med sig sj a l v .

Oct dagas, d e glesa tradstam marna

har fa rger nu, de frostbi tna
skogsblom morna gar tyst skal lgang
eftcr n agot som fo rsvann i mo rkret.
SENTRY DUTY

I ' m ordered out to a big hump of stones

as if I were an ari sto crat i c corpse fro m the I ron Age.
The rest are still b a ck in the tent sl eeping,
stretched out like spokes in a wheel .

I n the tent the stove i s boss : i t i s a big sn ake

that swallows a ball of fire and hisses.
B ut it is silent out here in the spring night
among chill stones wai ting for the light .

Out here in the col d I start to fly

like a sha man, straight to her body-
some places pale fro m her swimming sui t .
The sun shone right on u s . The mo s s w a s hot.

I bru sh back and forth along warm moments,

but I 'm not allowed to stay .
I 'm wh istled back through space-
! cr awl among the stones. B a ck to here and now.

Task : to be where I am .
E ven when I 'm in this solemn and absurd
rol e : I am still the pl ace
where creation does so me work on i tself.

Dawn comes, the sp arse tree trunks

take on color now, the fro stbitten
forest flo wers form a silen t search party
after so mething that has disappeared in the dark.

255
M en att vara d ar man ar . . . Och van t a .
Jag ar angsl ig, envi s, forvi rrad .
Kommande handelser, de finns redan !
J ag kanner det. De finns utanfor :

En sorlande fo l kmassa utanfor sparren .

De kan bara passera en och en .
De v i i i i n . Varfor? De kommer
en och en . Jag ar vandkorset .

2 5b
B u t to be where I a m . . . and to w ai t .
I a m ful l of anxiety, obst inate, confu sed .
Things not yet h appened are already here !
I feel that . They're j u st out there :

a murmuring m a s s outside the b arrier.

They can only s l ip i n one by one.
They want to slip in . Why ? They do
one by one . I am the turn s t i l e .

257
I SNOSMALTNINGEN - 66

S tortande stortande vat ten, d a n , gammal h ypnos .

A n oversva mmar bi l kyrkog arden, g l i ttrar
bakom maskern a .
J ag griper h art om bro ra cket.
B ron en stor fagel av j arn som segl ar forbi doden.

2 5t\
SNOW-MELTING TIME, '66

M assive waters fall, water-ro ar, the old hypno si s .

Water h a s r isen into t h e car-graveyard- i t glitters
behind the masks .
I ho ld tight to the n arrow bridge.
I am o n a l arge iron bird s ai l i ng past death.

259
LANGRE IN

Pa stora infarten t i l l staden

j ust fore solnedgangen .
Trafiken tatnar, kryper,
den ar en trog drake so m gli t trar.
J ag ar ett av drakens fj a l l .
Plotsl igt ar den roda solen
m i t t fra mfor vindru t a n
o c h strommar i n .
J ag a r geno mlyst .
En skri ft bl i r syn l ig i n ne i mig .
Ord med osyn l igt b l a ck
so m fram t rader
da papperet h a l l s over elden .
J ag vet a t t j ag maste langt bor t .
Tvars genom staden o c h sedan
vid are, j ag maste stiga ur
och vandra lange i skogen .
G a i gravl i ngens fo tspa r.
Det bl i r morkt, sviut att se .
Dar, i mossan, l igger stena r .
En av de sten a rna ar v i ktig,
den kan forvand la a l i t .
Den k a n fa morkret a t t lysa .
Den ar en s t rombrytare fo r hel a landet .
A I I t h a nger pa den.
Se den, rora vid den . . .

2 (10
FURTHER IN

I t 's the main high way leading in,

the sun soon down .
Traffic b a cks up, creep s along,
i t' s a torpid gli ttering drago n .
I am a scale on that dragon.
The red sun all at once
blazes in my windshield,
pounng In,
and makes me transparen t .
S o m e writing shows
up inside me- words
written with invi sible ink
appearing when the paper
is held over a fire.
I grasp that I have to go far away,
straight through the ci ty, out
the other side, then s tep out
and walk a long time in the woo d s .
Walk in t h e tra ck s of the badger .
G rowing hard to see, nearly dark .
S tones l i e about on the mos s .
One of tho se stones i s preciou s .
That stone can change everything .
I t can make the darkness shine .
I t ' s the l ightswitch for the whol e coun try.
Everything depends on that ston e .
L o o k at it . . . touch i t . . .

261
ELEGI

J ag oppn ar den forsta dorren .

Det ar ett stort sol belyst ru m .
E n tung bi l gar forbi p a gatan
och far pors l i net a t t darra.

Jag oppnar dorr n u m mer tva .

Vanner ! N i dra ck morkret
och blev syn l iga .

Dorr nu m mer tre. E t t t rangt hotel l ru m .

U t s i k t mot e n bakgat a .
E n lykta gni strar p a asfa l ten .
Erfaren heternas va ckra s l agg.
ELEGY

I open the first doo r .

I t is a l arge sunlit roo m .
A heavy car passes outside
and makes the china quiver .

I open door number two .

Friends ! You drank some d arkness
and became vi sible.

Door number three . A narrow hotel roo m .

View o n an alley.
One lamppost shines on t he asphal t .
Experience, its beautiful slag .

2 63
MARKGENOMSKADANDE

Den v i t a so len r i nner ut i smogen

l j u set d ryper, det letar sig ner

t i l l m i n a nedersta ogon so m v i l a r
djupt under s t a den o ch bl i ckar uppat

ser st aden underi fra n : gator, husgrunder­

l i knar flygb i l der av en st ad i krig

fast t vartom - et t m u l lvadsfoto :

t ysta fyrkan ter i dova farger.

Dar fa ttas besl u ten . De dod as ben

gar i n te att ski lj a fran de levandes .

So l l j uset okar i vol y m , strom mar in

i flygkabin ern a och artskidorn a .

26·1
SEEING THROUGH THE GROUND

The whi te su n melts down in the s mog

the light drips, works its way down

to my underground eyes that are there

under the ci ty, and they see the city

fro m beneath : streets, blocks of bui ldings­

like aeri al photos o f a wartime city

though reversed : a mole pho tograph . . .

speechless rectangles in gloomy colors .

Things are deci ded there . No one can tell

the bones of t he dead fro m those of the living.

The sunshine increases, floods into

co ckpits and into peapods .

265
DEN SKINGRADE FORSAMLINGEN

Vi stal lde upp och vi sade vara hem .

Besokaren tankte : ni bor bra .
S l u m men fi nns i nvartes i eder.

l nne i kyrk a n : va lv o ch pela re

vita so m gi ps, so m gi psband aget
kri ng trons bru tna arm.

I n n e i kyrkan ar tiggarsk a l en
so m lyfter sig sj alv fran golvet
o ch gar la ngs ban k radern a .

Men klockorna maste ga under j o rde n .

De hanger i kloak tru m mo rn a .
De kl a m tar under vara steg.

So mnga nga ren N i code mus pa vag

t i l l A d ressen . Vern h a r A d ressen ?
Vet i n te. Men det a r d i t vi g a r .

2 66
THE SCA TIERED CONGREGATION

We got ready and sho wed our ho me .

The visi tor thought : yo u live well .
The slum must be inside you .

Inside the chur ch, p i l l ars and vaul ting

whi te as plaster, like the cast
around the broken arm of fai th .

I nside the chu rch there' s a begging bowl

that slowly l ifts fro m the floor
and floats along the pews .

But the church bells have gone undergroun d .

They're hanging i n the drainage pipe s .
Whenever w e take a step, they ring .

Ni codemus the s l eepwalker i s o n his way

to the Ad dres s . Who's got the A ddress ?
Don't kno w . But th at's where we 're goin g .

267