Edith Södergran translated by Christian Ward

2 poems

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The Forest Lake

I was alone on a sunny shore
by the forest’s pale blue lake.
A single cloud floated in the sky,

a single island sat on the water.

The ripe sweetness of summer

trickled from every tree,

and into my open heart

fell a tiny drop.

**

I saw a tree...


I saw a tree taller than all the others,
full of unattainable cones;
I saw a great church with open doors
and all who came out were pale and strong
and ready to die;
I saw a woman who smiled

as she threw a dice for happiness

and became forlorn when she saw that it lost.


A circle was drawn around these things
that no-one should cross.

**

return to sawbuck 3.3

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Edith Södergran (1892 - 1923) was a Finnish-Swedish poet. One of the first Modernists to emerge from Scandinavia, her poetry combined a concise sense of image and metaphor with lyrical rhythms. She published five collections of poetry, including Poems (Dikter, 1916), The September Lyre (Septemberlyran, 1918) and The land that is not (Landet som icke är, 1925).

Christian Ward is a 28 year old London based poet and translator. His poetry has appeared in Elimae, The Kenyon Review and The Emerson Review. His chapbook, Slippage, was released by Erbacce Press in 2008.