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Espresso

Tomas Tranströmer

Det svarta kaffet på uteserveringen
med stolar och bord granna som insekter.

Det är dyrbara uppfångade droppar
fyllda med samma styrka som Ja och Nej.

Det bärs fram ur dunkla kaféer
och ser in i solen utan att blinka.

I dagsljuset en punkt av välgörande svart som snabbt flyter ut i en blek gäst.

Det liknar dropparna av svart djupsinne
som ibland fångas upp av själen,

som ger en välgörande stöt: Gå!
Inspiration att öppna ögonen.


Tomas Tranströmer

Reproduced by permission of the authors.

Tags:

Swedish Swedish poetry Translations

Translations of this Poem

Espresso

Translator: Robin Fulton Macpherson


The black coffee they serve outdoors
among tables and chairs gaudy as insects.

Precious distillations
filled with the same strength as Yes and No.

It’s carried out from the gloomy kitchen
and looks into the sun without blinking.

In the daylight a dot of beneficent black
that quickly flows into a pale customer.

It’s like the drops of black profoundness sometimes gathered up by the soul,

giving a salutary push: Go!
Inspiration to open your eyes.

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Tomas Tranströmerb.1931

Tomas Tranströmer was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and worked as a psychologist with addicts, offenders, and the disabled. A prolific poet and translator,  he has won many awards,  including the Swedish Academy’s Nordic Prize (1991), the Lifetime Recognition Award...
More about Tomas Tranströmer

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