Liliths sång by Karin Boye

This is me reciting Liliths sång by Karin Boye from her collection of poems called "Härdarna".
Karin Boye was a Swedish poet and fiction writer and one of Swedens most loved and respected poets.
She was also known for a lesser extent her prose work most notable the dystopian masterpeice Kallocain.
The first picture is Karin Boye herself the second a painting based on this poem.
You will find both a English translation and the original to read if you scroll down.
The translation in my opinion does not come close to be as good in my opinion but since translating poetry is next to imposible it is well enough.

Translation of this work by David McDuff

LILITH'S SONG

The clouds hang heavy,
ripen in tepid darkness, where they're concealed,
night-blue clusters of grapes,
heavy with wine that silent pours on every field,
heavy with wine of the Deep,
heavy with secret power,
sucked out of sea and sky
and bitter dew in outermost darkness's shore.

Life's hot vapour
condenses in drops, falls in dead silent night.
Raise the cup! You shall capture
the key where no one his foot has set -
the land where the spirit freed
beyond time's border fence
tastes in eternities
things that are never felt or seen or sensed.

Behind waking worlds
seethe alien seas of delight and woe
the world-deep's smithy-forges,
from which leapt like a spark what our eyes know.
Do you dare take the way there,
blazed in horror's drunkenness?
Terror-struck, blessed
you will attain the eternal Mothers' dark houses...


Blown seed on wide waters,
flower of the Deep, that never saw its root,
dragonfly shy of the night -
one day the Mothers' night will greet your foot!
Death with pain is black.
Death with joy is white.
Plunged in his murmuring waves
you will forget life's coast of clouded light.

Original Swedish version

Liliths sång

Molnen hänger tunga,
mognar i ljumma mörkret, där de göms,
nattblåa druvors klunga,
tunga av vin, som tyst över jorden töms,
tunga av Djupets vin,
tunga av hemlig makt,
sugen ur hav och himmel
och bitter dagg i det yttersta mörkrets trakt.

Livets heta ånga
tätnar i droppar, faller i dödstyst natt.
Lyft bägarn! Du ska fånga
nyckeln dit, där ingen sin fot har satt --
landet, där anden löst
bortanför tidens gräns
smakar i evigheter
ting som aldrig anas och syns och känns.

Bakom vakna världar
sjuder främmande hav av lust och ve,
världsdjupens smideshärdar,
varur sprang som ett stänk vad vi kan se.
Vågar du vägen dit,
banad i fasans rus?
Skräckslagen, salig
når du de eviga Mödrarnas mörka hus...

Flarn på vida vatten,
Djupets blomma, som aldrig såg sin rot,
dagslända skygg för natten --
en gång tar dig Mödrarnas natt emot!
Döden är svart av kval.
Döden är vit av lust.
Sänkt i hans susande vågor
glömmer du livets bleka töckenkust.

From the poem collection "Härdarna"

Category:

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Tags:

• Poem
• dikt
• Karin Boye
• Swedish
• Liliths
• sång

[skinnywhop87]

The story of Lilith is one of the things that lead me to Atheism. Even now most people don't know who she is

[Eopyk]

@skinnywhop87 Yeah that is true she is both inportant in ancient Jewish and Mesopotamian myth. Sadly today not so well known.........

[Freya5000]

all love & respect

[kelliko70]

Beautiful!

[YeOldeHeretic]

<3

[ScreamsFromTheAbyss]

Good stuff sis!! And you know how much I adore the archetype & symbology of Lilith! Liked and faved! :-)

[bluecollarcanuck]

An interesting and well-written outlook. BTW, Thx. kindly for the channel comment (and staying on GooTube! :) )

Hope your Holidays were good.

[khalilahinjapan]

I wish you would sing because I love your voice! :)

[colourmegone]

First some nitpicks on the translation:

"no one his foot has set" better "no one has set his foot"

"time's border fence" better "the boundaries of time" or "time's horizon"

"world-deep's smithy-forges" "smithy" is a redundancy (and sounds silly to a native English speaker), "forges" is sufficient.

"what our eyes know" better "all our eyes behold"

I would commend to your attention the "LadyoftheLabyrinth"

(/user/LadyoftheLabyrinth)

Her analysis of the Eddas is rich and profound.