Context by Tomas Tranströmer
"The brief moments of freedom rise out from us, swirling."
Context
by Tomas Tranströmer
translated by Patty Crane
Look at the gray tree. The sky has flowed
through its fibers down into the ground—
just a shrunken cloud remains after
the earth took a drink. Stolen space
is entwined with the braidwork of roots, twisting
into greenery.—The brief moments
of freedom rise out from us, swirling
through the Fates' blood and beyond.
First published in The Blue House: Collected Works of Tomas Tranströmer, translated by Patty Crane.
Hello, we are speaking to you from Fez Avery's Interlochen poetry class. We are fans of the imagery in the shrunken cloud, the earth drinking, and the stolen space. We are curious about who the speaker is, the nature of the title, and what is lost (or gained) between the original and its translation. Anyone else have thoughts? Thank you!
- Xy, Lila, Catherine, Maia, Ronin, Ellie, Fez
Perfect Friday poem :)