Eino Leino (1878-1926) - originally Eino Armas Leopold Lönnbohm

Finnish poet, a master of song-like poetic forms, playwright, and novelist. Leino was the
most important developer of Finnish-language poetry at the turn of the 20th century, and
now probably Finland's most cited poet. In his works Leino combined the archaic and
mythic tradition, symbolism, and influences from Friedrich Nietzsche with his romantic
concept of the poet as a truth-seeking visionary. Leino's command of the language was
outstanding, and he was the first Finnish translator of Dante. Leino's life style was
bohemian and from the beginning of his literary career Leino was a well-known figure in
the restaurants and cultural elite of Helsinki.

"Short time's to us allotted till our urn.

Living, like furnace flames then let us burn,
High let us in the fire be ascending,
Earth stays below, the spirit's heavenward tending."
(from 'Hymn to Fire')

Eino Leino was born Armas Einar Leopold Lönnbohm in Paltamo, Hövelö, the son of
Anders Lönnbohm, a surveyor, and Anna Emilia (Kyrenius) Lönnbohm, who came from
a priest and an officer's family. He was the seventh and youngest son; there were ten
children in all in the family. Leino's father died in 1890 and his mother five years later.
These losses were a deep blow to him, which he expressed in his poems in feelings of
loneliness and as an orphan. He was educated in Kajaani, Oulu, and Hämeenlinna,
graduating from Hämeenlinna Grammar School in 1895. At the age of sixteen Leino
published a translation of a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804-1877), the great
Swedish language Finnish poet.

In 1895 Leino started his studies at the Imperial Aleksander University of Helsinki. He
joined literary and newspaper circles and became a member of the Young Finnish circle.
Among Leino's friends were the artist Pekka Halonen and Otto Manninen, who gained
fame as a poet and translator. By the end of the century, Leino left the university without
taking a degree. He worked as a journalist and critic on the newspapers Päivälehti (1899-
1905) and Helsingin Sanomat (1905-14). His pseudonyms, 'Mikko Vilkastus' and
'Teemu', were from Aleksis Kivi's play Nummisuutarit. Between the years 1898 and 1899
he edited with his brother Kasimir Leino the magazine Nykyaika, and was heavily in debt
after its bankruptcy. Also both Russian censorship and self-censorship threatened free
expression - Russification of Finlad had started under governor general Nicholas
Bobrikov, who was shot to death by Eugen Schauman in 1904. Later Leino planned to
include Schauman in his collection of poems about great Finns.

When his marriage with Freya Schoultz and dreams of bourgeois life style neared an end
in 1908, Leino went abroad and travelled in Berlin, Dresden, Münich, and Rome. Leino's
close friend and companion during the turning point of his life was the poet L. Onerva.
Leino lived with her in Rome in 1908-09, before he was divorced from his wife. Both
poets were still legally married. Leino's liaison with the writer Aino Kallas from 1916 to
1919 was another scandal - she was the wife of an Estonian diplomat. In Rome Leino
lived at Lungo Tevere Prat and continued with his translation of Dante's Divine Comedy.
A memorial tablet has been placed on the wall of house where he lived: "In questa casa
negli anni 1908-1909 il grande poeta finlandese Eino Leino tradusse La Divina
Commedia con amore inspirato alla universalita di Roma."

Leino attempted to revive Finnish theatre, and boldly attacked Kaarlo Bergbom, the
founder of the Finnish Theatre. His major plays from the beginning of the century include
SIMO HURTTA I-II (1904-19), LALLI (1907), and MAUNU TAVAST (1908). From
1915 to 1918 Leino worked as an editor of the magazine Sunnuntai. At the outbreak of
the Finnish Civil War (1917-18), Leino was in Helsinki, where he witnessed the battles
with his small boozing circle. The reign of the Reds did not win Leino's sympathies; the
women's battalion especially horrified the poet: "This was the first time I'd seen so many
of them gathered together, and I have to confess, in the name of truth, I've never at any
other time witnessed such human savagery, bestial frenzy, mental derangement and
physical disfigurement." (trans. by Herbert Lomas, from Helsinki: a literary companion, 2000) After
the war Leino's idealistic faith for a national unity collapsed, and his influence as a
journalist and polemic writer grew weaker. He was granted a State writer's pension in
1918 at the age of forty. Although publishing prolifically, he had financial problems and
his health was giving way. "Life is always struggle with eternal forces," Leino said in a
letter in 1925 to his friend Bertel Gripenberg: "Nous sommes pourtant nécessaires. Aussi
malades. Mais c'est de la tristesse de la vie, qui pour nous est toujours un combat avec les
forces étérnelles." - Leino died at Riihiluhta in Nuppulinna on January 10, 1926. "Well -
Eino Leino - perhaps he was the only Finnish author who can really be called a genius,"
said Bertel Gripenberg. Leino was married three times, first with Thyra Freya Franzena
Schoultz (1905-10), then with the harpist Aino Inez Kajanus (1913-1920), who was the
daughter of the conductor Robert Kajanus, and for the third time with Hanna Laitinen
(1921, died 1929). Freya Schoultz was a translator and commercial correspondent; and
with her for a couple of years the poet enjoyed bourgeois life in a large seaside flat.
Leino's only child, Eya Helka, came of this marriage.

Leino's first collection of poems, the light-hearted MAALISKUUN LAULUJA, appeared

in 1896, when he was eighteen-years old. Later he turned from the free style to the meter
and style of folklore. TUONELAN JOUTSEN (1896), a Neo-romantic verse play,
combined symbolism and folk poetry. After a journey to Russia Karelia and falling in
love with a "nature child", Anni Tiihonen, Leino wrote SATA JA YKSI LAULUA (1898).
He started the work in Berlin. It included one of his most beloved poems, 'Hymyilevä
Apollo', originally part three of the larger poetic work entitled 'Hymni'. Reinhold Roine's
(pseudonym R.R.) review of the book in the newspaper Uusi Suometar was hostile. Later
Leino published his 'Hymn' in TUULIKANNEL (1919), but to this version he had made
small changes. For decades, the poem has been heard on New Year's Eve radio
broadcasts. Another popular poem, the resignated 'Nocture', was first published in
TALVI-YÖ (1905). "I have stopped chasing Jack-o'-Lantern, / I hold gold from the
Demon's mountain; / around me life tightens its ring, / time stops, the vane has ceased to
swing; / the road before me through the gloom / is leading to the unknown room."
Simo Hurtta, an epic poem, took its subject from the long war in the early 18th century
between Russia and Sweden-Finland. Talvi-yö and HALLA (1908), born in the years of
political dissatisfaction, returned to the images of darkness, frost, and cold. His personal
crisis led the poet to abandon individual heroes and the theme of death - he focused on
cosmic visions and legends. Leino's works, such as PAINUVA PÄIVÄ (1914) and
ELÄMÄN KOREUS (1916), still had high artistic values. His first and only screenplay,
KESÄ (1913), Leino wrote according to stories in one night - allegedly he had not seen
any feature films.

After the Finnish Civil war Leino worked productively but on several occasions his
efforts led to pathos and empty preaching. During this period there appeared
LEIRIVALKEAT (1917), JUHANA HERTTUAN JA CATHARINA JAGELLONICAN
LAULUJA (1919), AJATAR (1920), SYREENIEN KUKKIESSA (1920), and
SHEMEIKAN MURHE (1924). Leino also wrote plays, essays, contemporary novels,
animal fables, and translated into Finnish works from such authors as Racine, Runeberg,
Schiller, Anatole France, J.W. von Goethe, Dante, Rabindranath Tagore, Dante (Divine
Comedy, 1912-14) and Corneille. His oeuvre includes 32 books of poetry, 25 plays, 25
novels, and 16 translations.

Tell me, O Sun, what is that

Gives the greatest bliss to the singer?
"Do as I do, beam like me,
Giving's greatest bliss to the singer."
(from 'The Sun's Advice')

Having published several books of verse, Leino produced his major work,
HELKAVIRSIÄ (1903-1916, Whit songs), a collection of narrative poetry composed in
the trochaic meter. It was based on the Kalevala and folk poetry, and appeared in two
collections. Several of the ballads present the past in heroic light, its characters are great
visionaries, who challenge their fate or willingly yield to greater forces. "Täss' on mies
tämän sukuinen, / kadu ei tehtyä tekoa / eikä taivasta tavota." (from 'Ylermi') The second
volume of Whitsuntide songs is more resigned and more mystical than the first, and the
symbolism is more obscure. "Uskoin ennen ihmisihin, / en nyt itke, en iloitse, / ohi
käyvät onnet heidän, / onnettomuudetkin ohitse, / tiedän kyllä kylmyyteni, / en sitä sure,
en kadu, / se on voitto taisteloiden, / tulos tappion tuhannen." (from 'Äijön virsi')
Obsession with death marks some later pieces. Leino never wrote a third volume of
Helkavirsiä, although the noted short story writer Aino Kallas in vain tried to persuade
him to do so.

Leino's autobiographical books, ALLA KASVON KAIKKIVALLAN, appeared in 1917,

and ELÄMÄNI KUVAKIRJA in 1925. As an essayist Leino was one of the best of his
time. In the unfinished series of essays, SUOMALAISIA KIRJAILIJOITA (1909), he
drew well-characterized portraits of Finnish authors. SUOMALAISEN
KIRJALLISUUDEN HISTORIA (1910) was a short but insightful history of Finnish
literature. Leino also wrote about himself in the book and admits the influence of Goethe
on his poetry. He praises Aleksis Kivi's novel The Seven Brothers - "Yhtä rohkea kuin
kirjan sisällys on sen muoto, joka on sekoitus draamallisista, eepillisistä ja lyyrillisistä
aineksista, kaikki kuitenkin yhtyneinä klassilliseksi kokonaisuudeksi." Although his
general attitude is positive, one exception is Irmari Rantamala's (Maiju Lassila) large and
shapeless novel Harhama (1909), which he dismisses as "tasteless". In his own novels
Leino reacted to contemporary social, political, and ideological questions. His cycle of
novels, TYÖN ORJA (1911, slave of work), RAHAN ORJA (1912, slave of money),
NAISEN ORJA (1913, slave of woman), and ONNEN ORJA (1913, slave of fortune)
deals with the modern capitalist world, which destroys idealism.

For further reading: Nalle ja Moppe: Eino Leinon ja L. Onervan elämä by Hannu Mäkelä (2003); 'Eino
Leino (1878-1926)' by Marja Liisa Nevala, in 100 Faces from Finland, ed. by Ulpu Marjomaa (2000);
Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century, ed. by Steven R. Serafin (1999, 3. vol.); Mestari by
Hannu Mäkelä (1995); Poliittinen Eino Leino by Yrjö Larmola (1990); Eino Leinon tie Paltamosta
Roomaan by Teivas Oksala (1986); Eino Leino ja Italia by Peka Lilja (1985); Eino Leino ja Viro by Pekka
Lilja (1981); Maan piiristä metafyysiseen by Aarre M. Peltonen (1975); Epic of the North by J.I.
Kolehmainen (1973); A History of Finnish Literature by J. Ahokas (1973); Mielikuvirn taistelu by Marja-
Liisa Kunnas (1972); Studier i Eino Leinos kalevalaromantik by Sakari Vapaasalo (1961); Tuntemani Eino
Leino by Aino Thauvón-Suits (1958); Eino Leino aikalaistensa silmin, ed. by Aarre M. Peltonen (1958);
Voices from Finland, ed. by E. Tompuri (1947); Eino Leinon runoudesta by V. Tarkiainen (1954); Eino
Leino by Olli Nuorto (1938); Eino Leino I-II by L. Onerva (1932) - See also: Aino Kallas, Viktor
Rydbergin runoteoksessa Dexippos on Sibeliuksen säveltämä ja Eino Leinon suomentama 'Ateenalaisten
laulu'. Hella Wuolijoki: Kummituksia ja kajavia. Muistelmia Eino Leinosta ja Gustaf Mattsonista (1947);
Juhani Siljo: Eino Leino lyyrikkona (1912) - Note: Eino Leino Award established in 1956 - See also: Eino
Leinon Seura - Influence: Larin-Kyösti - Film: Runoilija ja Muusa (1978), directed by Jaakko Pakkasvirta,
starring Esko Salminen as Eino Leino and Elina Salo as L. Onerva. The film depicted Eino Leino's life and
women in it.
ELEGIA
Haihtuvi nuoruus niinkuin vierivä virta.
Langat jo harmaat lyö elon kultainen pirta.
Turhaan, oi turhaa tartun ma hetkehen kiini,
riemua ei suo rattoisa seura, ei viini.
Häipyvät taakse tahtoni ylpeät päivät.
Henkeni hurmat ammoin jo jälkehen jäivät.
Notkosta nousin. Taasko on painua tieni?
Toivoni ainoo: tuskaton tuokio pieni.
Tiedän ma: rauha mulle on mullassa suotu.
Etsijän tielle ei lepo lempeä luotu,
pohjoinen puhuu, myrskyhyn aurinko vaipuu,
jää punajuova: kauneuden voimaton kaipuu.
Upposi mereen unteni kukkivat kunnaat.
Mies olen köyhä: kallit on laulujen lunnaat.
Kaikkeni annoin, hetken ma heilua jaksoin,
haavehen kullat mieleni murheella maksoin.
Uupunut olen, ah, sydänjuurihin saakka!
Liikaako lienee pantukin paatinen taakka?
Tai olen niitä, joilla on tahto, ei voima?
Voittoni tyhä, työn tulos tuntoni soima.
Siis oli suotta kestetyt, vaikeat vaivat,
katkotut kahleet, poltetut, rakkahat laivat?
Nytkö ma kaaduin, kun oli kaikkeni tarpeen?
Jähmetyn jääksi, kun meni haavani arpeen.
Toivoton taisto taivaan valtoja vastaan!
Kaikuvi kannel; lohduta laulu ei lastaan.
Hallatar haastaa, soi sävel sortuvin siivin.
Rotkoni rauhaan kuin peto kuoleva hiivin.
Selected works:

• MAALISKUUN LAULUJA, 1896

• TARINA SUURESTA TAMMESTA, 1896
• YÖKEHRÄÄJÄ, 1897
• KIVESJÄRVELÄISET, 1898
• SATA JA YKSI LAULUA, 1898
• TUONELAN JOUTSEN, 1898
• AJAN AALLOILTA, 1898 - The Waves of Time
• HIIHTÄJÄN VIRSIÄ, 1900
• JOHAN WILHELM, 1900
• SOTA VALOSTA, 1900
• PYHÄ KEVÄT, 1901
• KANGASTUKSIA, 1902
• MÄSTER GARP, 1902
• SUOMALAINEN NÄYTTÄMÖTAIDE, 1902
• HELKAVIRSIÄ, 1903
• PÄIVÄPERHOJA, 1903
• KAUNOSIELU, 1904
• SIMO HURTTA, 1904
• NAAMIOITA, 1905
• PÄIVÄ HELSINGISSÄ, 1905
• TALVI-YÖ, 1905
• TUOMAS VITIKKA, 1906
• RUNOKIRJA, 1906
• JAANA RÖNTY, 1907
• LAUKON LAKKO, 1907
• NAANIOITA. 2, 1907
• TURJAN LOIHTU, 1907
• HALLA, 1908
• OLLI SUURPÄÄ, 1908
• NAAMIOITA. 3, 1908
• SUOMALAISIA KIRJAILIJOITA, 1909
• NAAMIOITA.4, 1909
• NUORI NAINEN, 1910 - Den unga kvinnan
• SUOMALAISEN KIRJALLISUUDEN HISTORIA, 1910
• ILOTULITUS, 1911
• KIRKON VIHOLLINEN, 1911
• MAAN PARHAAT, 1911
• TYÖN ORJA, 1911
• NAAMIOITA. KUUDES SARJA, 1911
• RAHAN ORJA, 1912
• TÄHTITARHA, 1912
• NAISEN ORJA, 1913
• ONNEN ORJA, 1913
• KESÄ, 1913 (screenplay, film directed by Kaarlo Halme, starring Hilma
Rantanen, Konrad Tallroth)
• SEIKKAILIJATAR, 1913
• MESIKÄMMEN, 1914
• PAINUVA PÄIVÄ, 1914
• PANKKIHERROJA, 1914
• PAAVO KONTIO, 1915
• ELÄMÄN KOREUS, 1915
• HELKAVIRSIÄ, 1903-16 - Whitsongs
• MUSTI, 1916
• ALLA KASVON KAIKKIVALLAN, 1917
• KARJALAN KUNINGAS, 1917
• LEIRIVALKEAT, 1917
• HELSINGIN VALLOITUS, 1918
• AHVENET JA KULTAKALAT, 1918
• VAPAUDEN KIRJA, 1918
• VÖYRIN SOTAKOULU, 1918
• SIMO HURTTA I-II, 1904-19 - film 1940, dir. by Roland af Hällström, starring Santeri
Karilo, Aili Tikka, Hannes Veivo
• ELINA, 1919
• JUHANA HERTTUAN JA CATHARINA JAGELLONICAN LAULUJA, 1919
• TUULIKANNEL, 1919
• BELLEROPHON, 1919
• LEMMEN LAULUJA, 1919
• SYREENIEN KUKKIESSA, 1920
• AJATAR, 1920
• KODIN KUKKA JA UHRIKUUSI, 1920
• VANHA PAPPI, 1921
• PAJARIN POIKA, 1922
• PUOLAN PAANIT, 1922
• SHEMEIKAN MURHE, 1924
• ELÄMÄNI KUVAKIRJA, 1925
• KOLME LÄHTI, KAKSI PALASI, 1926
• RUNOJA, 1928
• KOOTUT TEOKSET 1-16, 1926-30
• MAUNU TAVAST, 1930
• LYRISK URVAL, 1931
• LALLI, 1932
• TUOMAS-PIISPA, 1932
• TULKOON VALKEUS, 1934
• VÄINÄMÖISEN LAULU, 1934
• VALITUT TEOKSET, 1939-40
• ELÄMÄN LAULU, 1947 (ed. by V. Tarkiainen)
• KIRJOKEPPI, 1947
• RIKOS, 1949
• PÄIVÄN KEHRÄ, 1953
 • EINO LEINON KAUNEIMMAT RUNOT, 1954
• TARQUINUS SUPERBUS, 1954
• VALITUT TEOKSET, 1957
• EINO LEINON RUNOUTTA, 1959
• HYMYILEVÄ APOLLO JA PÄIVÄN POIKA, 1959
• KIRJEET 2., 1960
• PAKINAT.1-2, 1960
• KIRJEET 1., 1961
• KIRJEET 3, 1961
• RUNOT.1-4, 1961-62
• KIRJEET 4, 1962
• MUISTELMAT, KULTTUURIKUVAT, TUNNUSTUKSET, 1965
• JOULU, 1966
• HYMYILEVÄ APOLLO, 1973
• ELÄMÄN KOREUS, 1976
• EINO LEINON RUNOT JA RUNOSUOMENNOKSET KOOTTUJEN
TEOSTEN ULKOPUOLELTA 19151-1920, 1977
• ALLA KASVON KAIKKIVALLAN, 1978
• MAAILMANKIRJAILIJOITA, 1978
• SULLE LAULAN..., 1979
• DIE HAUPTZUGE DER FINNISCHEN LITERATUR, 1979
• POHJOLAN KIRJAILIJOITA, 1979
• ELÄMÄN KIRJA, 1980
• EINO LEINON KUOLEMATTOMIA RUNOJA, 1980
• LAULU ONNESTA, 1980
• EINO LEINON SUURI RUNOKIRJA, 1982
• LAULUN LAPSI, 1983
• TOISILLEMME, 1986
• SULLE LAULAN, NEITI KESÄHEINÄ, 1988
• EINO LEINO 1-3, 1989
• SATA KAUNEINTA LAULUA, 1989
• VAPAUDEN VARTIO, 1989
• SUOMEN KANSAN KALEVALA JA SUOMALAINEN KANSALLISHENKI,
1991
• RAKKAUDEN LAULUJA, 2000 (ed. by Hannu Mäkelä)
• LAULUN LAPSI, 2002 (ed. by Hannu Mäkelä)
• LAULAJA TÄHTIÄ LAULELEE. EINO LEINON RUNOJA, 2003 (ed. by Anne
Helttunen and Annamari Saure)

'Poetry after all in itself is a translation.'

(Joseph Brodsky, 1977)
No poet specifically belongs to a country; yet, as most Finnish poets, both men and
women, would admit, a poet has to explore a particular angle, a particular location of
experience that belongs to a place. A poet stands, as Mirkka Rekola has said, 'like a
narrow gate in a landscape'. Through that gate, through that articulated perception, the
whole landscape may come into existence.
Finland's poetic tradition is full of silences, lacunae, and sheer struggle for survival -
instead of schematic continuity, as tradition is generally seen by literary historians, there
is a singularly unified, but intermittent, poetic inspiration that extends from the centuries-
old oral tradition to con- temporary modernism. This evolution is not parallelled by any
other present-day literature.
Finnish poetry has developed on the periphery of European civilization, and its off-centre
characteristics are emphasized by the fact that its language is non-Indo- European, and
that its mythology is shamanistic; but some of its themes and motives resemble those that
could be found in the poetry of the centrally European psyche. Thus even in the folk
poetry, there are narrative poems that are mixtures of different sources, as for instance in
the medieval cycle about the birth of Christ, where a Finnish maiden Marjatta, a variant
of the Virgin Mary, becomes pregnant by eating cranberries (a berry in Finnish is marja).
In modern Finnish poetry, too, the new forms are constantly sought after and created by
the meshing together of different sources, different orders of experience.
To read Finnish literature has been a notoriously problematic task for foreigners.
Translations from Finnish are few, much fewer than for instance from Hungarian, a
related language of the Ugrian family. But there is a certain inaccessibility that goes
beyond the literal level. To perceive this distinctive style would necessitate entering into
the universe of metaphors, metonyms, and symbols that have sprung from roots other
than those familiar to a European reader. Finnish language has no European history; its
vocabulary as well as its deep structure flow elsewhere. It was this common history of
language on which poets like Eliot or Pound could capitalize for their effects, and which
truly creates intertextuality, poetic allusion, and in the final analysis, poetic tradition.
Oral literature has survived in Finland until this century. Folk poetry, of which thousands
of variants survive, was sung both by men and women. Oral culture depends on memory
and must be passed on through the telling of its stories, through sacred narratives and
foundation myths, as well as other tales relating to the more practical level of existence.
The collapse of the oral mode of maintaining cultural processes is a trauma, a source of
terrible anguish and deep guilt for a culture. In Finland, the disintegration of a
homogeneous symbolic universe that characterizes oral poetry has happened relatively
late, in fact coinciding with the arrival of modernism, and paralleling the transition from
an agricultural society to an urban, industrialized one.
Modernism arrived in Finland first in the work of Swedish- Finnish modernists,
particularly of Edith Södergran (1892- 1923), shortly after World War I. It is interesting to
note that women poets were among the first representatives of writing that sacralized art
and liberated the forms of expression such as metre, diction and syntax, as well as held
poetry to be an individual expression, wanting to oppose both realism and philosophical
positivism which dominated Finnish literature in the nineteenth century. Perhaps this is
because lyrical poetry is by nature both private and anti-traditionalist; and both these
modes are fully in the range of experience of a woman writer.
Edith Södergran has remained one of the greatest poets of twentieth-century Finnish
literature, widely translated and read across the boundaries of class, gender and
generation, although her work was ignored at first by the literary establishment. Her
poetry depicts individual experience in raw, direct terms, yet capturing the collective
imagination. It tells of a withdrawal from the world of culture and people and from
discursive language, from the truth that has been defined by men. It is through such
withdrawal and deliberate forgetting that she can reach her own truth, the absoluteness
and purity of inward passion.
This tradition is still strong in contemporary poetry written by women. Yet, despite the
undeniable female presence in Finland's literature, both oral and written, both sung and
silently remembered, every poet has had to start from the beginning. Women poets are
curiously much more outlawed and destitute with regard to poetic tradition and cultural
crib than male writers, even now; the tradition is thinner, and the territory of unexplored
subjects far wider. Each imaginative claim has expanded the availability of topics for
other poets, and it is through such acts, daring or rebellious by necessity, that women
poets have been able to render a complex, polymorphous reality in poetic terms, which is
equally useful for male poets - for poetry does not know sex, or then, it knows them all.
Each poet in this book has added something new to the range of topics that poetry can
practise; some have selected a single, special point of view, like perhaps Arja Tiainen or
Anne Hänninen; some, like Eeva-Liisa Manner or Sirkka Turkka, for instance, have
explored several planes of projected existence. Philosophy, history, cultural mythology,
visual art, world politics, have all become subjects for poetry alongside the traditional,
universal topics that relate to private experience, love, the loss of loved ones, the brevity
of life, and the consolation of nature.
This anthology aims to give a multi-faceted picture of the poetry written in Finland in the
1980s. Admittedly this picture cannot be complete, for only eleven women's voices are
represented. However, it is through these select visions, these individual explorations of
being in the modern world, that I hope a fuller view will emerge. Reading through the
poetic work of a great number of modern women poets has convinced me - as I hope it
will the reader - of the vitality of Finnish poetry, even at the moment when the greatest
fears of its being submerged into a multilateral, international whole are being expressed
in Finland.
But a new sense of exploration and adventure can also be felt at a time when the maps of
Europe are being redrawn in many places, and when history is being given back the
polygenetic meaning that it has always had in the European past. These ideas can be felt
in poetry even when it deals with private and intimate areas of human experience. As T.S.
Eliot has said, 'the poetry of a people . . . represents its highest point of consciousness, its
greatest power and its most delicate sensibility'. It is these crystallizations of thought and
feeling that I hope a poetry anthology could give to a reader who may be unfamiliar with
the larger context of the poems presented.
All the poets in this anthology, with the exception of Marja-Liisa Vartio who died at the
age of 41 in 1966, are writing at the present day. Eeva-Liisa Manner and Mirkka Rekola
made their names in the 1950s, and are generally regarded as all but classics in Finland.
Sirkka Turkka, Satu Koskimies [form. Satu Marttila], Eira Stenberg, and Arja Tiainen
started publishing in the 1970s. Tua Forsström, Kirsti Simonsuuri, and Anne Hänninen
began in the 1980s; and Annukka Peura published her first collection only last year
[1989].
Among the diversity of voices there are also certain similarities, and maybe a
congeniality of spirit. In a certain sense, one can see resemblances between Vartio and
Hänninen, both of the mythical darkness; between Manner and Peura, both explorers of
invisible dimensions; between Rekola and Koskimies, both of whom are poets of
language. Forsström writes in Swedish, and her poetic language may have a slightly
different timbre at times; her poetic psyche, however, as was the case with the Swedish-
Finnish modernists of the 1920s, seems to me to be Finnish, its lyrical, imagistic space
filled with forests, water, winds, and the eternal movement within. But the differences are
also evident. All the poets in this book have a sense of identity that is fully their own,
fully unique.
It is for this reason that I asked each poet in this anthology to write a short preface of
their own, instead of a biographico- literary introduction written by the editor. These
prefaces reached me in the summer of 1990, and add to the personal and topical
presences that the poems themselves demonstrate.

Kirsti Simonsuuri
Helsinki, August 1990

Finnish poetry is rich, vibrant, and complex. Finland has a long poetic history dating
back to the days of the great epic poets and runesingers of Kalevala. The Finns are a
musical and a poetical people, and the culture still fosters poetic expression. The
average Finn doubtless does not realize it, but he could most likely recite a snippet of
the Kalevala, a few poems, and the lyrics to countless Finnish folk songs.

The Finns are a people who are passionate about preserving their culture and
traditions; it is in that spirit that this site is created. This collection is yet but a
fraction of Finland's vast body of poetry; it should not be considered as a
representative selection—just a small sample of what Finnish poetry has in store,
according to my own personal tastes. Included are also song lyrics; since the original
Finnish poetical impulse was for the sung word, I see no reason not to include lyrics
as poetry.

Translating Finnish poetry into English is a frustrating task for any who has tried it.
The Finnish language is full of nuance — every word carries with it a connotation, not
just of a value judgment, but its inherent environment. There are a plethora of
adjectives and descriptive words which have no equivalent in English, or cases in
which the English counterpart is "flatter," devoid of meaning, whereas the original
word carries with it a specific context of emotion, time, location, or quality. Much of
the flavor and rhythm of the language is perforce lost.
That said, I hope my translations will at least somewhat lift the veil and offer a
glimpse of the beauties of Finnish poetry.
—Anniina Jokinen

The Kalevala
Kalevala is the Finnish National Epic. The earliest stories date back to prehistoric days, possibly
more than 3000 years, and The Kalevala still survives (sparsely) in the oral tradition in parts of
Karelia. It was first collected and compiled from hundreds of runesingers in the early 1800s by a
country doctor named Elias Lönnrot, who walked the country on foot from village to village to
preserve the ancient mythological tales. His compilation was first published in 1835. The
Kalevala predates the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf by hundreds of years and is incredibly long (over 2
million verses have been collected so far) — and no-one knows how much was lost of the stories
over the centuries. For more detailed information on The Kalevala, please refer to Wikipedia.

Of more modern interest, The Kalevala was also one of the inspirations for Tolkien's Lord of the
Rings. In particular, the character of Väinämöinen, a mighty enchanter who has the power to
chant a man to sink into the swamp, was one of the inspirations for Gandalf. Tolkien also based
the Elven languages on the sounds of the Finnish tongue.

I have been seriously dismayed at the poor translations of the Kalevala that exist. I don't even
want to discuss the e-texts I found — there are flagrant errors and a lack for the feel of the
rhythms of the language and the moods of the storytelling. I haven't of course seen all the printed
translations of The Kalevala, so if someone knows of a worthy one, please let me know — I will
happily recant. For now, here is an excerpt from the Fifteenth Poem, which probably dates from
around 800 AD.

Nota bene: The following translation does not preserve the Kalevala metre. I tried that, but
faithfully and artificially keeping it distorted the original content of the lines, words being more
often polysyllabic in Finnish than they are in English. I thought it more prudent to reproduce the
content and taste of the text, rather than violating it by being enslaved by the metre, adding words
for syllables' sake, which may change emphases or intentions in the process. Furthermore, since
the poem was meant to be sung, and orally recited, I thought preserving the fluency and flow of
the text paramount. I have tried my best to keep any taking of license to a minimum.
AJ Intro: In the Fifteenth Poem, the mother of Lemminkäinen (the hero, whose name means
"son of Lemmi", but also carries the connotations of "Beloved One" and "Son of Love", and whose
other name Kaukomieli means "FarMind") senses something ill has befallen her heroic son.
When a hairbrush starts bleeding red drops of blood, the mother goes to find what has happened
to her child. The Mistress of Pohjola (Northtown), the gaptoothed Louhi, has sent Lemminkäinen
on a quest to Tuonela, Land of Death, to kill the Swan of Death that swims on the River of Death.
Lemminkäinen has died and his body is lost in the Tuoni, the River of Death. His mother asks
the smith, Ilmarinen (Man of Air), the forger of the dome of the skies, to forge her a mighty rake
of copper, with which she can seek her son in the River of Death.

Poem XV
(ll.210-608)
*****

The mother of Lemminkäinen herself gets the rake of iron,

Flies to the river of death. Prays to the Day:
"Oh Day, created by God, our Creator's creation, our light!
Shine one moment hotly, another humidly heat,
The third in a full blaze: make sleep the sly bunch,
Tire the folks of the Cursedlands,
O'erpower the Kingdom of Death!"

The said Day, created by God, the Maker's creation sunny,

Flew to the top of the birch tree, onto the branch of the alder.
Shone a moment hotly, another humidly heated,
A third fully blazing: made sleep the sly bunch,
Tired the Cursedland people, the young men onto their swords,
Elders against their staves, the middle-aged onto their spears.
Thence it flew, whisked away, to the top of the smooth heavens,
To its earlier resting place, to its home of old.

Then the mother of Lemminkäinen took the iron rake;

Rakes for her son in the roaring rapids,
In the rushing stream. Rakes and does not find.

Thence she moves in deeper: wading into the waters,

Up to her garters in the stream, up to her waistband in water.

Rakes for her son the length of Death's river,

Dragging cross-current. Dragged once, then again:
Gets the shirt of her boychild, a shirt to her heart's sorrow;
Dragged yet once more: got socks, met the hat,
Socks to her great grief, the hat to her annoyance.

Stepped even deeper from there, to the deeps of the Cursèd Lands.
Dragged once along the water, once more across the water,
A third diagonally. And then on this, the third try,
A bale of wheat came against the iron rake.

A bale of wheat it was not: but it was the flighty Lemminkäinen,

The beauteous Farmind himself, caught in the tine of the rake
By his ring finger, by his left toe.
Arose the flighty Lemminkäinen, rose the son of Kaleva,
On the rake of copper to the top of the waters smooth;
Yet was a little lacking: one hand, half a head,
Many other members, most of all his life.

His dam at this fell wondering, thus she crying saith:

"Would this yet make a man, a male worked anew?"
A raven overheard it. To that it replied:
"There is no man in the passed-away, nor barely in the remains:
His eyes have been eaten by whitefish, his shoulders split by the pike.
Leave the man to the waters, push him into the River of Death!
Mayhap he'll become a cod fish, or grow strengthened into a whale."

But this is the mother of Lemminkäinen, she will not drop her son.
Drags once more with her rake of copper
Along the river of Deathland, as well as the river acrost,
Gains a hand, a piece of the head, gains half a shoulderblade,
The other half of the rib bones, many other members.
Out of these she 'gan to build her son, refashioning flighty Lemminkäinen.

Rejoined the flesh to flesh, bones into bones slipped,

Joints to joints, veins to collapsèd veins.

Herself the veins knitted, the ends of veins knotted,

Vein-threads smoothed out, conjuring these words:
"Sweet is the mistress of the veins, Suonetar, graceful woman,
Lovely spinner of veins on her beautiful spinning wheel,
With her copper spindle and iron wheel!
Arrive when you are needed, come here when you are beckoned,
A vein-bundle in your lap, a membrane scroll under your arm,
These veins to knit, ends of veins to knot,
In these broken wounds, in these ripped out holes!

"Since I doubt that will suffice, there is a maiden on the air,

In a boat of copper, a vessel with a red stern.
Come, maid, from above the air, maiden from the nave of the sky!

"Row this boat through the veins, shaking up these limbs,

Row through the slots in the bones, along the cracks in the joints!

"Put the veins in their places, set them in their stations:

Mouth to mouth the greater veins, against each other the arteries,
Side by side the sidling veins, head to head the small ones!

"Thence, take a misty needle, a closing clamp at needle's end!

Sew with misty needles, with tin needles stitch:
The ends of veins tie up, knit them with silken bands!

"Since I doubt that's enough, the God of Air himself,

Harness your colts, team up your steeds!
Ride your varicolored chariot through bone, through joint,
Through the moving-muscles, through the flowing veins!
Bind bone to flesh, vein to end of vein,
Pour silver into the slots in the bones, gold in collapsèd veins!

"Where a membrane's missing, set a membrane a-growing,

Where a vein's collapsèd, set a vein a-knitting,
Whence the blood has run off, set more blood a-flowing,
Whence the bone has rotted, slip more bone in its stead,
Whence the flesh removèd, set new flesh befitting,
Each thing to its blessèd place, set in its rightful place:
Bone to bone, flesh to flesh, joints to their joints!"

Thus the mother of Lemminkäinen made the man, curried the male,
To his former being, to his ancient likeness.

Got the veins straightened, the ends of veins smoothened,

Yet the man remained speechless, wordless her child.

Thence she put it into words, herself spoke, thus named:

"Whence now can balm be gotten, a drop of mead be brought,
With which to anoint the weakened, to heal the one come to ill,
For to bring the man to words, to break him into his songs?
"Bumblebee, our bird, king of the forest flowers!
Leave now, honey to fetch, some mead to gain,
From the pleasant Forest House, from well-ordered Tapiola,
From the bulbs of many flowers, from the hem of many a grass,
As a salve for sick ones, to make the ill things well!"

Bumblebee, swift bird, by now flew, a-flitted

To the pleasant Forest House, to well-ordered Tapiola.
Pecked the flowers in the field, boiled honey on his tongue
From the noses of six flowers, the hem of a hundred hay.
Thence he arrives a-puffing, lumberingly comes,
All his wings mead-covered, feathers in molten honey.

The selfsame mother of Lemminkäinen took some of these salves,

With them anointed the weakened one, treated the one come to ill:
There were no help in these, no words for the man.

This she put into words: "Bumblebee, my birdling!

Fly over to another place, over nine seas
To a covered island, to a honey'd continent,
To Thor's new house, the roofless house of the worshipped-one!
There is pleasant honey there, there is goodly balm,
That will be fitting for the veins, agreeable to the joints.
Do bring to me those ointments, carry me those salves,
For me to place on the damage, on the wounds to pour!"

Bumblebee, fellow lightfooted, again flew a-gliding

Over seas nine, half a sea of a tenth.
Flew a day, flew another, flew soon a third,
Without sitting on a stalk, not a moment's rest on a leaf,
To a covered island, to a honey'd continent,
On the brink of a raging rapids, by the sacred river's swirl.

There was honey being boiled, salves were being made,

In the tiniest kettles, in the prettiest pots,
The size of a thumb to go in, fitting on a finger's end.

Bumblebee, fellow lightfooted, did receive those salves.

A little time passed, a tiny bit went by:
Already came back huffing, arrived a-staggering,
With six cups in his arms, seven on his back,
They chock full of ointments, full up of goodly salves.

Herself the mother of Lemminkäinen rubbed him with those oils,

With nine ointments, with eight salves:
Yet received no aid, he did not from these utter.

So she said these words, uttered this sentence:

"Bumblebee, bird of the air! Fly away a third time
Up to the highest heavens, to above the ninth heaven!
There they do farm the mead, as much honey as the heart could wish,
With which before the Creator enchanted, chanted our pure God,
Anointed the Creator his children, by evil powers injured.
Wet your wings in that mead, your feathers in molten honey,
Bring the mead on your wings, carry the honey in your cape,
As salve for those who are sick, as cure for injuries!"
Bumblebee, bosombird, he to her words replied:
"How on earth would I get there, I, man of little strength!"

"Well will you get there, prettily you'll tread:

Over moon, under sun, and through the stars of hope.
One day's flight a-winging, to the brows of the moon,
Thence a second a-swimming, to the shoulders of the Great Bear,
The third even higher a-rising, to the back of the seven stars;
From there it's only a short trip, the tiniest tidbit,
To reach the holy God, to the dwellings of the blessed."

Bumblebee from the ground arose, the mead-wing from the meadow;
Already flew a-flapping, with little wings flitted.
Flew around the arc of the moon, brushed the hem of the sun,
Past the shoulders of Odin's Wain, by the Sennstar's back:
Flew to the Creator's cellars, to the chamber of the almighty.
There the salves are being made, ointments are being made,
In silvery cauldrons, in kettles of gold:
Honey was boiling in the middle, on the sides was melted butter,
Mead at the nose of it all, on top of the bottom greases.

Bumblebee, bird of the air, got thence plenty of meads,

Honies to heart's content. There passed a little time:
Soon he came a-puffing, lumbered back a-huffing
A hundred horns on his lap, a thousand other lumps,
Some with mead, some with water, some with the supreme salve.

From these the mother of Lemminkäinen put in her own mouth,

Those tested with her tongue, very gladly tasted:
"These are those salves, the almighty's ointments,
With which God anointed, the Creator poured on wounds."

With these she anointed the weakened, treating the one come to ill.
Anointed through the slots in bones, through the gaps in limbs,
Anointed below, anointed above, once brushed through the middle.
Thence she put it into words, herself stated and uttered:
"Arise from a-laying, rise up from sleeping
From these bad places, from this hard luck's bed!"

Arose the man from laying, awoke from dreaming.

Finally able to speak, with his own tongue to tell:
"A week, mother, I slept, a long time, mother, I lay there!
I slept very soundly, deeply did I snort."

Said the mother of Lemminkäinen, herself stated and uttered:

"You would have lain longer, longer than a week stretched out,
Without your poor mother, without your shrewd bearer."

"Say now, my unfortunate son, tell for my ears to hear:

What brought you to the Cursèd Lands,
pushed you into the River of Death?"

Said the fiery Lemminkäinen, responded to his mother:

"Rot Hat the cowherd, swollen-eyes of Untamola,
He led me to the Cursèd Lands, pushed into the River of Death.
A waterviper from the waters he raised, an adder from the waves
Against a powerless me; I did not even know this,
Knew not the waterserpent's hatred, the sting of the tubular wyrm."

Said the mother of Lemminkäinen, "Oh, you mindless man!

You bragged the witches to bewitch, the Lappish to outsing:
And you know not the waterserpent's hatred,
the sting of the tubular wyrm!
From the waters is the viper born,
the tubular wyrm from the waves,
From the good brains of the long-tailed duck,
from inside the sea-swallow's head.
The Devouress spat it onto the waters, set it on the waves;
Water stretched it out long, the sun beat it soft.
Thence the wind rocked it, the water spirit shook it,
The waves brought it towards shore, the spray threw it onto land."

Then the mother of Lemminkäinen cradled her beloved one,

Back to bygone strengths, to his ancient form,
Even a little better, even more whole than before.

Risto Rasa

Hän oli hyvin yksinäinen,

tilasi lehden
jotta joku kävisi hänen ovellaan.

- Risto Rasa –

He was very lonely,

Ordered the paper
So that someone would come to his door.

- Risto Rasa –

Kun pieni lapsi nukkuu, A small child sleeping

se täyttää yhden kokonaisen huoneen. Fills an entire room.

- Risto Rasa - - Risto Rasa -

 On aamu. It is morning.
Parvekkeen kaiteelta hyppää varpunen From the balcony railing a sparrow hops
keittiön ikkunan alle tutkimaan, Below the kitchen window to investigate
onko äiti ravistanut pöytäliinan. Whether mother has shaken the tablecloth.

- Risto Rasa - - Risto Rasa -

Koira tulee illalla In the evening, the dog comes

kotiin. Home.
Kun se kiertyy paikalleen When he curls up in his spot
ja nukahtaa, And falls asleep,
alkaa sen sydänlämpö levitä His heart's-warmth starts spreading
huoneisiin Into the rooms.

- Risto Rasa - - Risto Rasa -

Kuutamo. Moonlight.
Veden partaalla By the water
istuu sammakko ja hieroo Sits a frog, wiping
rillejä hihaan. His glasses on his sleeve.

- Risto Rasa - - Risto Rasa -

Kesä.
Hyttynen hoitaa Summer.
heinänuhaani The mosquito treats
akupunktiolla. My hayfever with
acupuncture.
- Risto Rasa -
- Risto Rasa -

Niin kuin aalto uittaa aallon
yli valtameren,
niin selviydymme mekin
toinen toisiamme tukien.
- Risto Rasa -
Just as one wave carries another wave
Across the ocean,
So we, too, survive
One supporting the other.
- Risto Rasa -
 Olen kuin vanha talo.
Jos lakkaat lämmittämästä minua, rapistun. I am like an old house,
If you stop heating me, I will deteriorate.

- Risto Rasa -
- Risto Rasa -

Minun paras kaverini My best friend

yhteen aikaan oli tyttö. At one time was a girl.
Me koetimme tavata niin ettei kukaan We tried to meet so nobody would see
nähnyt And we walked someplace
ja kävelimme johonkin Peaceful to play.
rauhalliseen paikkaan leikkimään. We made ranches:
Me teimme karjatiloja: From pebbles, fences and stalls,
pikkukivistä aitoja ja karsinoita, From sticks and pinecones, cows
tikuista ja kävyistä lehmiä And lots of horses;
ja paljon hevosia; We were going to be horse ranchers in the
meistä tulisi hevosfarmareita Länteen. West.
Kotiin me palasimme eri teitä, We returned home by different routes,
minä muina miehinä toisten poikien I casually rejoining the other boys
joukkoon To play boys' games.
leikkimään poikien leikkejä. When she got glasses,
Kun hän sai silmälasit, I was right there, jeering along with the
olin minä muiden mukana ilkkumassa. others.

- Risto Rasa - - Risto Rasa -

Odotan sinua takaisin.

Kulkisimme kaikki tutut paikat I await your return.
ja ne tuntuisivat minusta melkein uusilta. We'd walk through all the familiar places
And they would seem almost new to me.

- Risto Rasa - - Risto Rasa -

Olet jättänyt minuun You have left in me

valtakunnan, A kingdom
jota ei miehitetä. That will not be conquered.

- Risto Rasa -
- Risto Rasa -
 Eeva Kilpi's

Sano heti jos minä häiritsen, Tell me immediately if I'm disturbing

hän sanoi astuessaan ovesta you,
sisään, He said, coming in the door,
niin minä lähden saman tien pois. And I will leave right away.

Sinä et ainoastaan häiritse, You not only disturb,

minä vastasin, I answered,
sinä järkytät koko minun You shake my whole being.
olemustani. Welcome.
Tervetuloa.
- Eeva Kilpi -
- Eeva Kilpi -

Sinun jäljiltäsi katson itseäni;

silmieni ympärillä onnelliset After you, I look at myself;
poimut. Around my eyes, happy
wrinkles.
- Eeva Kilpi -
- Eeva Kilpi -

Rakkaus: vallankumous ihmisessä.

Love: a revolution within man.

- Eeva Kilpi -
- Eeva Kilpi -

Jo puolivälissä tiskiä Already halfway through the

kaipaa suudelmia dishes
vanhakin vaimo. Yearns for kisses
Even an older wife.
- Eeva Kilpi -
- Eeva Kilpi -
Rakkaus on lepo. Love is rest.
Oikeastaan ainoa lepo mitä ihmisellä on. Actually, the only rest humans have.
Eikä mikään ole niin rasittavaa. And nothing is as exhausting.
Ja se on vapautta.
Eikä kuitenkaan mikään sido niin paljon.
Siinä on rakkauden paradoksi.
Ilman rakkautta ihminen kantaa kuin
taakkaa
koko ajan ja on yksinäisyytensä vanki,
niin vapaa kuin yksin ollessaan onkin.
And it is freedom.
And yet, nothing binds us as securely.
Therein lies love's paradox.
Without love, it is as if one carried a burden
All the time and was prisoner to his
loneliness,
No matter how free he is in his aloneness.

- Eeva Kilpi - - Eeva Kilpi -

Sinun tuoksusi minussa Your scent on me

monta päivää, For many days,
monta päivää For many days
rakastan itseäni. I love myself.

- Eeva Kilpi - - Eeva Kilpi -

Koiratta on kuonoa Without a dog, it is one snout

ja kahta luppakorvaa And two floppy ears lonelier.
yksinäisempi. The night is without another
Yö on toista hengitystä vajaa. breath.
En pelkää — ikävöin. I do not fear — I yearn.

- Eeva Kilpi - - Eeva Kilpi -

Meidän tulisi sanoa We should say to one another,

toisillemme, Not, sorry, I bumped into you,
ei anteeksi, kun tönäisin But, thank you, for touching me.
vaan kiitos kun kosketit.

- Eeva Kilpi - - Eeva Kilpi -

Kun suru häipyy When sorrow fades

tulevat muistot Come the memories,
ja jokainen niistä And each of them
koskee yksitellen. Hurts uniquely.
- Eeva Kilpi - - Eeva Kilpi -

Nukkumaan käydessä ajattelen: Going to sleep, I think:

Tomorrow I will heat up the sauna,
Huomenna minä lämmitän Pamper myself,
saunan, Walk, swim, wash,
pidän itseäni hyvänä,
kävelytän, uitan, pesen,
kutsun itseni iltateelle,
puhuttelen ystävällisesti ja
ihaillen, kehun:
Sinä pieni urhea nainen,
minä luotan sinuun.
- Eeva Kilpi -
Finnish Songs and Lyrical Poems
Finnish Christmas Songs
Sylvian joululaulu
San. Zachary Topelius (1818-1898)
Säv. Karl Collan (1828-1871)
Käännös M.Korpilahti
Ja niin joulu joutui jo taas Pohjolaan
joulu joutui jo rintoihinkin.
Ja kuuset ne kirkkaasti luo loistoaan
jo pirtteihin pienoisihin.
Mut ylhäällä orressa vielä on vain
se häkki mi sulkee mun sirkuttajain,
ja vaiennut vaikerrus on vankilan;
oi, murheita muistaa ken vois laulajan!
Sä tähdistä kirkkain, nyt loisteesi luo
sinne Suomeeni kaukaisehen!
Ja sitten kun sammuu sun tuikkeesi tuo,
sä siunaa se maa muistojen!
Sen vertaista toista en mistään ma saa,
on armain ja kallein mull' ain'
Suomenmaa!
Ja kiitosta sen laulu soi Sylvian
ja soi aina lauluista sointuisimman.
Tuikkikaa oi joulun tähtöset (1918)
San. Elsa Koponen
Sov. P. J. Hannikainen
Tuikkikaa oi joulun tähtöset
kilpaa lasten tähtisilmäin kanssa.
Kertokaatte joulun satua,
yhtä uutta yhtä ihanaa,
mieltä viihtävää kuin muinen lasna.
Invite myself to evening tea,
Speak to myself in a friendly and
admiring way, praising:
You brave little woman,
I believe in you.
- Eeva Kilpi -
Sylvia's Christmas Song
Lyr. Zachary Topelius
Mus. Karl Collan
Tr. Anniina Jokinen
And now it is Christmas in my lovèd north,
Is it Christmas as well, in the heart?
And bright Christmas candles do spread their light
forth,
To each little cabin and hearth.
But up in the rafters there hangs high above,
The cage that imprisons my soul's turtledove;
And quiet are now all the prisoners' groans,
But oh, who pays heed to a prisoner's moans?
Oh shine you, the brightest of stars in the sky,
On my Finland so far, far from here;
When finally your light in the darkness doth die,
Oh, bless you that land, oh so dear!
I never will find one of equal worth,
My dearest will always be my land of birth;
My country to praise, I sing Sylvia's song;
It e'er will remain as a song pure and strong.
Shine forth ye stars (1918)
Lyr. Elsa Koponen
Mus. P. J. Hannikainen
Tr. Anniina Jokinen
Now shine forth, ye stars of Christmas eve,
Shine along with children's starry eyes;
Tell the story of the Christmas night,
Ever new, and ever wondrous bright,
Comforting us like when we were children.
Helkkykää oi joulun laulelot,
rinnoista niin riemurikkahista.
Soikoon sävel leikki leiskukoon,
rinnan riemusta se kertokoon,
mieltä viihtäen kuin muinen lasna.
Kerran loppuuun satu joulun saa
Suru säveliä sumentaapi.
Kerran silmän täyttää kyyneleet,
virtaa vuolahina tuskan veet,
siks oi tähtisilmät loistakaa.
Now sound forth, ye songs of Christmas eve,
Chime from chests whose joys are overflowing;
Make the music, let the games be played,
Happiness of hearts be here displayed,
Comforting us like when we were children.
Time comes, when the Christmas story ends;
Gravest grief like fog will shadow all;
Day will come when tears will overflow,
Waves of suffering will greatest grow;
Thus now, starry eyes, you must shine forth.