Svenssongalaxen: Wind from time immemorial -- a poem by Joannes Edfelt

torsdag 21 november 2024

Wind from time immemorial -- a poem by Joannes Edfelt

It is a day at the end of November.

Hello poetry lovers...

Welcome to the show.

Today I get the urge to deliberate upon a poem by Johannes Edfelt (1904-1997).

This Swedish Academy member knew the meaning of Tradition. He sang with an ear to times past, giving History a voice. Just listen:

Wind from time immemorial, wind through the centuries, blow,
comb the grass in Edåsa, Våmb and Horn
where they rest: riders, farmers. – Long
was their toil, harsh the evening of their workday.
And then the comfort in the finality: earth and wind.

This is the poem ”Westrogothica”.

The ”riders” refer to the cavalry regiment Westrogothia Troopers. This was a unit training on Axevalla hed, near Skara, Westrogothia; it was victorious at Breitenfeld, Lützen, and Lund.

But the rider figure also refers to a rune stone with a picture of a mounted Odin.

With this he brought many things along, Edfelt. Poetry is characterized by the words being able to mean more than one thing. Good poetry carries a certain ambiguity and thus becomes rich in information.

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The Swedish original goes like this:

Vind från hedenhös, vind genom seklerna, blås,
kamma gräset i Edåsa, Våmb och Horn,
där de multnar: ryttare, bönder. – Lång
var deras möda, sträv deras dagsverkes kväll.
Skönast slutgiltigheten: jord och vind.