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Tag Archive for ‘Mental health’

Swedish Poet: Gustaf Fröding

Swedish Poet: Gustaf Fröding

My absolute favourite Swedish poet is Gustaf Fröding (1860 – 1911). This brilliant poet and author’s short life was darkened with mental illness. Both his own and his parents. Perhaps this is evidence that brilliance and folly dances on a razor sharp edge.

He is still a popular poet in Sweden. The poems are highly musical and lends itself to musical setting. He is one the poets with the highest number of his poems that have been set to music. Many of them topping the charts for weeks on.

Many of his brilliant poems are written in the melodic dialect from his home province Värmland. In my mind the most beautiful Swedish dialect. Even if a person with this dialect is really angry with you it sounds like a declaration of love. The dialect is often a challenge to understand by Swedish speakers and then to translate to English!

Even so an Englishman named Mike McArthur took on the task with Frödings most loved poems. He did an excellent job and to that I’m glad to be able to share one of the poems in English. This poem was a great comfort to me when I lost my son four years ago.

Solace

When comes deep sorrow, as when night descending
in wildest forests, where man goes astray,
who trusts the glimmer, which ahead is wending,
the light that peeps out, flickers, hides away?
In fun it flickered, in fun fled this caper,
who takes a Jack o'lantern for a taper?

No, grieve till in the brain the numbness creeping
in weary torpor, is the solace found
- just like the wanderer, who was lost and sleeping
of soft and mossy down, a sleep so sound.
And when from misty depths he wakes from dreaming,
sees in the wooded hide the morn sun gleaming.

There is a Fröding society that published this as a year book in 2023. You can find them on the web here. Only in Swedish, but Google translate or Chat GPT can help. Seems this is the only way to get a copy of this book. You can also find out more on Wikipedia where there are some links to more of his works in English.

Ha de Gött!

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Yuletide

Yuletide

Merry Christmas to all

the children's glittering eyes,
listening for the jingles,
of the Santa fly-by and hoo-hoo.

the cosy warmth from the,
overheated credit cards in the corner.
Santa is hi-jacked by the soft drink corporations.

Merry Christmas to all

the lonely watching reruns on TV,
homeless hobo looking for shelter in the cold wind,
child hiding under the bed from domestic disturbance.

the empty churches of lost faith,
last minute gift in the cathedral of commerce,
overworked mum falling asleep under the tree.

Merry Christmas to all

the warmth of near and dear,
grand child on the knee of great grand parent,
the facetime conversation and the texts.

generations together, carried by tradition.
blessed together and in warm house.
Remembering that it is all about LOVE.

Svensk version

God Jul till alla

barnens glittrande ögon, 
lyssnar efter bjällrorna när tomten, 
flyger förbi och ylar hoo-hoo.

den mysiga värmen från, 
de överhettade kreditkorten i hörnet. 
Tomten blir kapad av de stora läskföretagen.

God Jul till alla

de ensamma som tittar på TV repriser, 
hemlös luffare som söker skydd i den kalla vinden, 
barn som gömmer sig under sängen, från vuxnas bråk.

de tomma kyrkorna av förlorad tro, 
sista minuten present i shoppingens katedral, 
överarbetad mamma somnar under granen.

God Jul till alla

värmen från nära och kära, 
barnbarn på gammelmormors knä, 
facetime samtalet och SMS:en.

generationer tillsammans, buren av tradition. 
välsignade tillsammans i ett varmt hus. 
Minns att allt handlar om Kärlek.

Christmas spirit is there in your heart, find it, share it. Ha de Gött i Jul!

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After the storm

After the storm

slowly the wind dies down

from frantic roar to silent whisper

as the sea slowly settles

the last waves make a lazy splash

onto the battered shores

a forgive me caress

and the sun slowly fades

behind the dissolving clouds

Anger is okay, but don’t stay that way. Ha de Gött!

Svensk version

långsamt avtar vinden

från frenetiskt vrål till tyst viskning

när havet sakta lägger sig

de sista vågorna gör ett slött plask

mot misshandlade stränder

en förlåt mig smekning

och solen försvinner sakta

bakom upplösande moln

Ilska är okej, men fastna inte i den. Ha de Gött!

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Insomnia

Insomnia

Too warm, soaking sweaty sheets

too cold, where is that blanket

the too soft pillow is too hard

why can’t he come, only for a fast drive by

spread that magic powder in my eyes

Mr Sandman, please come on in

place two Sumo wrestlers on my eyelids

let them win this fight

slumber, only to fall over the edge

with a bang you hit the floor

wide awake, for the next hour

trying to untangle yourself

from the bed linen web

giving in, fading into oblivion of sleep

then the alarm goes off, and out the window

Sleep tight if you’re still awake, ha de Gött!

Swedish version

För varma, genomblöta svettiga lakan

för kallt, var är täcket

den för mjuka kudden är för hård

varför kan han inte komma, bara en snabb sväng förbi

sprida det där magiska pulvret i mina ögon

Jon Blund, snälla kom in

placera två sumobrottare på mina ögonlock

låt dem vinna denna kamp

slumrar, bara för att falla över kanten

med en smäll slår du i golvet

klarvaken, nästa timme

försöker du reda ut dig själv

från sängklädernas spindelväv

ger efter, försvinner i sömnens glömska

sedan går larmklockan, och ut genom fönstret

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Nude

Nude

All naked it stands in the hidden valley of oak trees. Covered by the branches of the tree behind. Almost as a motherly protection.

This place has a very special vibe. Mystical and calm almost scary. The old oak trees stretching their slim branches like dancers to the sky and the sun. It is like the trees like to tell you a story, listen.

It is sometimes hard to see the forest for all the trees, ha de Gött!

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Life

Life

life is a strange thing

just when you finally figured it out

you have to move on

to greener pastures, as fertiliser

screaming and naked you are born

a blank sheet, a story yet untold

to become a epic chronicle, an encyclopaedia

then the ink runs dry, the swan sings

the comfort is that no-one knows

how thick will the book become

or when you write the last chapter

the last word and the final dot.

Life’s a journey, not a destination (Aerosmith). Ha de Gött!

På Svenska

livet är en konstig sak

precis när du äntligen klurat ut det

måste du gå vidare

till grönare betesmarker, som gödningsmedel

skrikande och naken du är född

ett tomt ark, en historia som ännu inte har berättats

att bli en episk krönika, ett uppslagsverk

då torkar bläcket, svanen sjunger

trösten är att ingen vet

hur tjock blir boken

eller när du skriver på det sista kapitlet

det sista ordet och den sista punkten.

Livet är en resa, inte en destination. Ha de Gött!
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