The great enigma...



The news that Tomas Tranströmer‎ has been awarded the Nobel prize for literature had me almost running to my bookcase to reread some of his poems. I'm delighted that he has been recognised in this way.

I was first introduced to his work five years ago, by a fellow blogger on myspace (how 'old-school' that seems now...). After reading just a few lines, I promptly ordered myself a couple of books - 'The great enigma' and 'The half-finished heaven'.

The picture above is from the cover of The Great Enigma.

Here are a couple of his poems - one from each book.

Calling Home

A telephone call flowed out into the night, and it gleamed here

and there in the fields, and at the outskirts of cities.

Afterward I slept restlessly in the hotel bed.

I resembled the compass needle the orienteer runner carries as

he runs with heart pounding.

~~~

The Tree and the Sky

There’s a tree walking around in the rain,
it rushes past us in the pouring grey.
It has an errand. It gathers life
out of the rain like a blackbird in an orchard.

When the rain stops so does the tree.
There it is, quiet on clear nights
waiting as we do for the moment
when the snowflakes blossom in space.

both by Tomas Tranströmer