Tuesday 14 February 2012

Another poem by the Swedish writer Werner Aspenström (1918-1997)


Spelman och upptecknare

Den gamle spelmannen kunde inte spela längre,
endast tralla.
Den gamle tandlöse spelmannen kunde inte tralla längre,
endat väsa.
I väsandet hördes trallen,
i trallen stråkdragen,
i stråkdragen de otämjda forsarna.
Rätt nöjd cyklade upptecknaren hemåt
med fem mil av Västerdalälven i portföljen.


Fiddler and compiler

The old fiddler could no longer play,
only sing the tunes.
The old toothless fiddler could no longer sing,
only hiss the tunes.
In the hissing the singing was audible,
in the singing the bow-strokes,
in the bow-strokes the untamed rapids.
Quite content the compiler cycled homewards
with thirty miles of Västerdal river in his briefcase.

1 comment:

Thomas Fahlander said...

Great translation.
(I knew Werner)