When the night fallsI stand on the stairs and listen,the stars swarm in the gardenand I stand out in the darkness.Hear, a star fell with a clang.Do not walk on the grass with bare feet;my garden is full of shards. — Edith Södergran, “The Stars,” Love and Solitude: Selected Poems, 1916-1923. (Fjord Pr; 3rd edition… Continue reading Edith Södergran
Spring days smell of blurred memories– — Pentti Saarikoski, from “A Fortunate Time,” trans. Herbert Lomas, Contemporary Finnish Poetry (Bloodaxe Books, 1991)
On foot I had to cross the solar system before I found the first thread of my red dress. I sense myself already. Somewhere in space hangs my heart, shaking in the void, from it stream sparks into other intemperate hearts.” — Edith Södergran, “On Foot I Had to Cross the Solar System,” Forbidden Love… Continue reading Edith Södergran
I know red and yellow, the other colors,— but the sea, det granna granna havet, that’s most dangerous to look at. What name is there for the color that arouses this thirst, which says, the saga can happen, even to you— — Edith Södergran, from “Strange Sea,” trans. Averill Curdy, Poetry (March 2012)
The Vale of Soul-Making 