Let's, like, completely f*ck off all the copyright people,

because I happen to like these poems.

You sought a flower
and found a fruit.
You sought a spring
and found a sea.
You sought a woman
and found a soul -
you are disappointed.

(Sinä etsit kukkaa
ja löysit hedelmän.
Sinä etsit lähdettä
ja löysit meren.
Sinä etsit naista
ja löysit sielun -
olet pettynyt.)

Edith Södergran

May I fuck you for ten grand? he said to me
on the bus stop at twelve fortytwo am
the empty streets around us growing frosty.
First I shook my head, but then I said:
Not for money, but if you hoover and wash up.
His turn, now, to refuse
and turn, unhappily, to go.

Saisko kymppitonnilla naia? hän sanoi minulle
bussipysäkillä kello 00.42
tyhjät kadut ympärillämme huurtuvina.
Ensin minä pudistin päätäni, mutta sitten sanoin:
Ei rahasta, mutta jos imuroit ja tiskaat.
Silloin hän vuorostaan kieltäytyi
ja kääntyi alakuloisena mennäkseen pois.

Eeva Kilpi

Originals in italics. The translations are my own, and would be better if they weren't late-at-night, off-the-cuff, on-a-whim jobbies.

PS Later in the day: NB Of course I *know* Edith S. was Finnish-Swedish and consequently wrote the poem in Swedish. My bad, my bad - but it was quite late in the night. This also means I don't just infringe on the copyright of the author, but also of the translator. How exciting.