The Icelandic Hurricane - Tomas Transtromer
Not a shuddering of the earth, but a skyquake. Turner could have painted it, firmly lashed down. A single glove whirled past just now, many kilometers from its hand. I shall make my way along against the wind to that house on the other side of the field. I am flickering in the hurricane. I am being X-rayed, my skeleton is handing in its resignation. Panic grows while I cross, I founder, I founder and drown on dry land! What a burden it is, all I have to drag along suddenly, what a burden for the butterfly to take a barge in tow! Arrived at last. A final wrestling with the door. And inside now. Inside now. Behind the big pane of glass. What a strange and magnificent idea glass is---to be close without being struck...Outside a horde of transparent sprinters of gigantic shape is rushing by over the plateau of lava. But I no longer founder. I sit behind the glass. Still. My own portrait.
Big Book Of Poetry
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Roman arches - Tomas Transtromer
Inside the great Roman Church the tourists found themselves
in the semi-darkness.
Vaults beyond vaults
Flickering candles.
There, the voice of a faceless angel caught me - filled me
vhispering into my very body:
"Do not feel ashamed human, be proud!
Inside you, vaults are opening and new vaults beyond these - forever.
Never will it stop. Never shall it stop."
Blinded by tears I stumbeled out on the sunny piazza
together with with Mr and Mrs Jones, Master Tanaka and
Signora Sabatini
and inside all of them vaults beyond vaults were opening - forever.
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From 'March ’79' - Tomas Transtromer
Tired of all who come with words, words but no language
I went to the snow-covered island.
The wild does not have words.
The unwritten pages spread themselves out in all directions!
I come across the marks of roe-deer’s hooves in the snow.
Language but no words.
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