Letter from my sister.What can letters saywhen I see you!Does the hair not fall lightly around you in golden waveswhen you enterto tell me about your life?Do the awestruck folds of your dress not harden when you leave?The Earth carries […]
Edith Södergran: Spring Mystery
Sister,you come like a spring wind to our valleys…The violets in the shadow smell sweetly of fulfillment.I will lead you to the loveliest spot in the forest:Here we will confess to each other how we saw God.
Edith Södergran: The Martyr
The martyr is pale.His eyes burn.Pitying he looksdown at you. What do you know aboutwhat swarms here and therewith grim movements,what do you know about your welfare,how does it feel to raise your head freely. He is acquittedwhom the rest […]
Edith Södergran: The Statue of Beauty
I saw beauty.It was my fate! It explains everything.How thank for it?Fresh roses, picked with warm hands,I lay every single dayin front of your statueso your smile can find rest.Where do I find rosesthat don’t offend my dreams?It is my […]
Edith Södergran: The Ring
Facing the eyes of all the worldsyou must decide…Will you enter the ring…?Nobody enters the ring lightly.The gods come to fetch you –you stepped aside,your hour hadn’t come.When the hour comesyou will give up the heart in your chestand silently grasp […]
Edith Södergran: The Torches
I will light my torches all over the Earth.My torch shall standon each and every nightly farmin the Alps, where the air is a blessing,in the tundra, where the sky is melancholy.Oh my torch, shine for the shocked,the teary-eyed, the […]
Edith Södergran: Questions
I need nothing but God’s mercy.Through life I go as if intoxicated.– – – – – – – –Oh, you strangely sparkling reality –— is there a bowlfor my few drops of rose oil?
Edith Södergran: The Song About the Ocean
Careful, careful,what do you press to your chest?Do they resemble youlike these seas resemblethe ocean that cries in anger? Ocean, ocean,you throw yourself from beach to beachin insatiable longing,you pound during the nighton the iron plates of the Earth till […]
Edith Södergran: On the Stairs of Himalaya
On the stairs of Himalayathe great Vishnu sitsdreaming. Infinite is the evening in Himalaya. Whitecladstands the tiny pilgrim in the violet glow.Almighty,take my lifein exchange for just a moment of your dreams…I will see what you want – and perish…
Edith Södergran: The Incantation
How shall I speak to you from the depths of my heart?How do the gods cover their words, irresistibly and lightly,how shall I speak, so human weakness doesn’t fell my words?I will speak, so I open up all of my […]
Edith Södergran: Transformation
What blessedness on the wind…The kiss of infinity…How my life has changed, how silent it has become,deceitfully silent…Happy fairytale princess,your heart storms wilder than the heart of the ocean.Do one carry in vain this heart in one’s breast?Time, listen to […]
Edith Södergran: The Gods Are Coming…
Humans know but little of themselves,they believe they are as poor as they show themselves in life,they know not at all that the gods live in their chests,unrecognized. The gods laugh. Life is theirs.They drive the wagon with the glowing […]
Edith Södergran: The Lament of the Tools
For me life sank into blue smoke.I stand up straightwith nothing else above me than the threatening copper sky over which I rule.Why is this burden lifted onto human shoulders?Why does iron armour enclose my heart?Am I not allowed to […]
Edith Södergran: Where Do the Gods Live?
Where do the gods live? In my heart,in my worn-out, tenderly intoxicated heart,when the song rises. Oh gods, what is a human capable of in its few moments!I have felt all of your power… Gods, come to me…and I lie […]
Edith Södergran: My Fairytale Castles
I visited the philosopher’s houseand understood that he was happy…But my fairytale castlesstandon fragile inexplicable pillars.Oh, fairytale castles,crash, crashinto golden gravelI love you way too dearly – die! I’ll rebuild youtremblingto kill you – way too beautiful.Fairytale castles,once you will […]
Edith Södergran: The Earth Was Turned Into a Pile of Ashes
The Earth was turned into a pile of ashes.In garments of penitenceI sit on it in a light mood and dream.Oh my ecstatic dreams!I am strong,for I have arisen from the marble bed of death.Death – I looked into your […]
Edith Södergran: The Chalice of Suffering
The chalice of suffering must be grasped by weaker handsand led to paler lips,my victory lips don’t miss it. But – no.In my heart dark giants still sitwith hard fists of stone.Once they’ll step out of their twilight darkness –they […]
Edith Södergran: To The Strong Ones
Flee into loneliness! Be men!Do not become dwarfs with crippled limbs.Do not become prisoners with gritted teeth.Do not become sick eagles in bonds and chains.Teach yourselves to stand like firs on the cliffs in the fire of the surf.Teach yourselves […]
Edith Södergran: The Penitent
We must make penance in the lonesome forests.We must lights single candles over the moors.We must rise – one after the other. When once we resemble each other like siblingsin force and nobility –then we go to the people.
Edith Södergran: On Foot I Had To Walk Through Solar Systems
On footI had to walk through solar systemsbefore I found the first thread of my red garment.I already sense myself.Somewhere in space my heart hangs,it sprinkles sparks and shake the airon its way towards other endless hearts.