Bengt Berg [Sweden]

 

To sow the wind, to reap the storm

                For Jack Hirschman 
                                                                                

A forest with only one single tree,
it stands in the middle
 
This is a poem that I wrote
some years ago
 
Now I understand 
what it is about:
It is a poem about
Jack Hirschman
 
And what does it mean?
It says that a lonely tree 
 
is longing, longing 
for other trees, many trees
 
to fill up the sense
of the word forest
 
And Jack knew just that:
A lonely tree is just lonely
 
– but nothing is in wain!
Just listen …  can you hear 
 
the wind?
 

Evening poem in the North

 
That lone shining star in south west,
a street light in the Cosmos
The countryside road creeps into twilight
The mirror of the lake is turned inwards
Almost breathing in the earthy scents of spring
You almost can fill your lungs with longing,
Not to Venus high above
but to someone closer to you
who is also waiting
in the quarantine of love
 
 
 
Two Red Berries

 
Behind autumn’s rusty pleasure
and the leaky old rowboat
that is hauled out of the river year after year,
a dog barking through the morning
— sound check before the elk hunt
 
there ahead, beyond the forest,
awaits that which is called future
you are on your way there, with two red berries 
in your hand, one for yourself
and one for the world
 
you stand equipped against power
with shining stubborness of the heather,
you know that this won’t be sufficient
not even the four cardinal points are enough
 
but your arms reach a dream
where time is not rushing and where
all children can speak all the world’s languages:
every tongue enjoys a freedom, which does not exist
 
you who don’t listen to the incomprehensible
will never understand anything 
we are not only what we are
— we become what we see
 
two red berries; there you stand
on the treshold of the world, you
walk on air and wind 
is blowing in your hair
 

 
Author’s Bionote:
 
*Bengt Berg considers the world his home and enjoys living and working in a landscape characterised by silence and wild nature, but he draws much of his inspiration from other people and cultures far from his own Nordic province. He has been called a serious humourist, mixing everyday impressions and experiences with global thinking. His poems are often spiced with equal parts surprise and recognition. He has published about 50 books since his debut in 1974. His poems can be found in separate editions or various magazines and contexts in many different languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Slovak, Romanian, Japanese, German, Chinese and Vietnamese. Berg has toured across the Nordic countries and participated in various international poetry festivals such as Medellín (Colombia), Granada (Nicaragua) Struga (N. Macedonia), Druskininkai (Lithuania), Nisan (Israel), Jan Smrek Festival (Slovakia), Kritya (India), Târgul Festival de Poezie (Romania), Qinghai Lake International Poetry Festival (China), Kathak International Poets Summit 2016 (Bangladesh) and poetry festivals in Chengdu (China) and Hanoi (Vietnam) in 2019, Kolkata and Guwahati (India) in 2022, Struga Poetry Evenings Festival (North Macedonia) 2024 and “Entre Mares” International Literary Festival in Portimão (Portugal) 2025.