Ann Jäderlund, trans. Emma Warg
from I en cylinder i vattnet av vattengråt
I e n c y l i n d e r
i v a t t n e t
av
vattengråt
så tillverkar jag
mina
tårar s å
blir jag
f ä r d i g
så
gör såret v a n-
s å r e t
ont
En räfflad
flickstjärt
nere i
vattnet i
mörkret
i ögonvrån
som ett
fostergräs a p e l s i n-
b l o m m o r
som mamman
som inte
fanns
när hon
syntes
Rot-
kyss
med tungan
med lårbens-
pipan
stjärt-
gungan
rotkyss
i varje
snår
Förut var
handen
en klo
e n
b i t
a v e n
f å-
g e l där fjädrarna
slutade
där slutade
också
din arm
o c h d ä r var
k a n s k e
h a n d-
e n
centrifugen v o l y m
u t a n
s p ä n n i n g
kollaps
S ä n g-
b l o m m o r k u d d-
doft
vita
70-talspistiller
f l i c k a n m å s t e
b o r t
s o m e n h ä g r i n g
cigaretthårding
fittljus
Badrums-
skåpen
med ljust
lila v i o l-
k ö t t
i b u r k a r n a deras
inre delar
nere
i mig n y c k e l p i g a n
som går
långs
de tunna
venerna
L u c i a-
v o d k a n går som
en v i t v i t vit
t r å d
in
i hjärn-
an
och b a d a r d ä r
i s i n
f i l m
V i d g a ö g o n e n
t i l l e t t
h å l
i fittan
till en o r a n g e
p ä r l a pärla
som
smälter
from In a Cylinder in the Water of Waterweep
I n a c y l i n d e r
i n t h e w a t e r
of
waterweep
I manufacture
my
tears
to be d o n e
w i t h
thus
the wound t h e d i s-
w o u n d
hurts
A ribbed
girlsbottom
down in the
water in
darkness
in the corner of the eye
like a
foster grass o r a n g e-
b l o s s o m s
like the mom
who
no
longer was
when she
was visible
Root-
kiss
with the tongue
with the
thighbone-
pipe
booty-
swing
rootkiss
in every
thicket
The hand
was a claw before
a
p i e c e
o f a
b i-
r d where the
feathers
ended
ended
also
your arm
a n d t h e r e w a s
m a y b e
t h e h a n d
the centrifuge v o l u m e
w i t h o u t
t e n s i o n
collapse
B e d -
f l o w e r s p i l l o w -
fragrance
white
'70s pistils
t h e g i r l h a s t o
g o
l i k e a
m i r-
a g e
cigarettetoughguy
cuntlight
The bathroom-
cabinets
with light
purple v i o l a -
m e a t
i n t h e b o t t l e s their
inner parts
down
inside of me l a d y b u g
walking
along
the thin
veins
The L u c i a-
v o d k a runs like
a w h i t e w h i t e white
t h r e a d
in
the br-
ain
and b a t h e s t h e r e
in i t s
f i l m
W i d e n t h e e y e s
to a
h o l e
in the cunt
to an o r a n g e
p e a r l pearl
that
melts
Ann Jäderlund (b. 1955) is the author of eleven books of poetry as well as a collected volume, Dikter 1984-2000. Jäderlund also writes children's books and plays. She has translated several foreign poets, including the poetry of Emily Dickinson (these translations are collected in Gång på gång är skogarna rosa), and she has been translated into various other languages. Widely regarded as one of the absolutely most important contemporary Swedish poets, Jäderlund has won numerous awards, most recently Övralidpriset in 2017. Which once had been meadow, a translation of her seminal book Som en gång varit äng (1989) was published by Black Square Editions in 2017.
Emma Warg (1967) has worked as a model in Paris and an actress in Los Angeles. She published her first book of poetry, nära darrar ingen hare, in 2014. She has translated poets such as Marie Silkeberg, Ann Jäderlund, and Forrest Gander.