JOANNA SVENSSON

JOANNA SVENSSON

In My Solitude

In my solitude

When crumbs of time

Have fallen of the table

where others needs

And others doings

Have been done

There in my solitude

I gently gathered them

To be able to write

To be able to dream

All of the undreamed dreams

I’ve always dreamed about dreaming

In order to be able

To realize

My heart’s irresistible lust

My heart’s deepest vocation

To gather all pictures

And gather all impressions

To mantel them in words

Words that become verses

And verses that become poems

I have gathered many

Oh, so many I have gathered

Many crumbs of time

That have been left

For me

After all these years

But I am not bitter for this

I can always manage

To make it in time

To make ends meet

For others

The one’s I love

The one’s I adore

I stretched the rope of time

Like an endless rubberband

The time

That was left

For me

But the more I gathered

The more I wrote

Intensely

I sometimes borrowed time

Because I knew

The time would come

I felt so often

That the Universe

Trixed the time for me

And stretched out

All its borders

Sometimes I wished

To infinity

So that I could write

So that I could tell

All the world

What I see

That others do not see

And to tell the world

What I hear

That others do not hear

I felt that the power of words

Are stronger than feelings

Because feelings you may bridle

But the written words

Are more sharp than swords

It has become many poems

Many poems through the years

Time is the witness

To all that’s happened

Because it knows

All my hiding places

In boxes, drawers, bags

Filled to its rims

With poems

It was so long

Since the feeling

Of solitude

Came over me

Because all of my

Old poems

Got a new face

And a new life

They did get new shapes

New clothings

Like Cinderella

In H C Andersens fairytail

They touched the hearts of many

The hearts of those

Who got to hear them

For whom they have been told

And all the ones I love

Whom I have given

All of my time

Whom I have given

All of my love

They are proud of me today

For the one that I am

For the one I have become

I have hidden in my verses

All the love I’ve felt

All these years of feelings

Love for the environment

And the one’s that I love

It warms my heart to know

That they have all seen

Seen what I mean

Seen what I have to say!

I Will Marry You

I will marry you

In all of my future lives

For you have lit the stars

On my dusky path of life

A path full of stones

Which I used to stumble  and fall upon

My eyes could see nothing

For the straight jacket of darkness

Made me blind

Blind and unseeing

Unseeing what was good

In the one that had hurt me

So many times

Because of no reason

Just because – just because

I have asked myself

So many times – so many times

Why?

Although I knew

I would never get no answer

But then you

Came into my life

Like a burning torch

With warmth and love

And kind words of comfort

And I will never

Ever forget

When I first saw

The stars of hope

Light up

I saw them

In your eyes

Suddenly my road of life

Became lighter – lighter

Easier to bare

Suddenly I felt love

Love in full bloom

All around me

Everywhere

Your power of love

Your strength

Reflected in me

Comfort and security

And now I know

No matter how

The day our bodies

And our souls

No longer dwell

Upon this solid earth

I will marry you

In all my future lives

For you have

For ever more

Lit the stars for me!

Where Poetry Is Born

I see before me

Gardens suspended

Pendulous

between heaven and earth

Gardens floating

Filled with blooming unborn thoughts

Filled with blooming unborn words

Filled with blooming unborn colors

Slowly ripen

Slowly materializing

Through different kinds of colors

Through different kinds of feelings

Some of them will be beautiful and sensible

Some will touch your heart and your soul

Some will get sad and sorrowful

Because they haven’t yet ripened

Some have already frozen – in their own sorrows

Every thought hustles and bustles

Everyone wants to be there

But it’s the poet who decides

Which words and what thoughts

Should be chosen

To reflect the poem

If you want to be loved

And to feel real love

You have to sow

With small seeds

With the words of love

In the pendulous gardens

Floating between heaven and earth

But if you only look back

And do not look forward

Not even over the edge of what’s real

Then the poem gets dark

The poem gets heavy

The poem gets sad

And it pulls you down

Instead of lifting you up

And then you fail to see

The meaning of each life

So if anyone but me

Sees the pendulous gardens

Please – with the power of thoughts

And with encouraging words

Let the pendulous gardens

between heaven and earth

Be filled with unborn thoughts

Filled with unborn words

And filled with unborn poems

That slowly materializes

Through beautiful colors

And wonderful wonderful feelings!

You Have Searched For Me

You have searched for me

All these years

You have visited me

In my dreams

But I have not understood

That it was you

I was waiting for

All these years

I have not understood

That when the time is right

I will meet you

For real

And then I will

Recall your face

From my dreams

From messengers

From the Universe

That sends signals

Time and time again

Signals

That I must be patient

And wait

That I must have faith

And endure

As the one who waits

For a perfect wine

To ripe and ripe

To reach its full-grown taste and character

To gain its final color

And then came the day

When finally

Our eyes met

And I recognized you

Once again

From my dreams

And now I feel

That the wine

Has grown and riped

And I feel

That the time is right

That the wine

Has gained its color

And taste

For you!

My Dearly Beloved Mother

My dearly beloved mother

To me you will always be

As beautiful and young

As you were in your greatest days

As elegant and graceful

Happy and bright

And always in the best

of moods

Just like that

I will remember you

For ever, my dearly beloved mother

And never as old and sick and fragile

We, your children, take care of you

In the best way we possibly can

To show our gratitude and our love

Just like you did

for each and everyone of us

On your painting of life

Time with its skillful brush

has painted many memories

Memories that life sometimes

Sometimes was a fiest

But there are also dusky, gloomy ones

Filled with fear and deep sorrow

And memories of starvation, misery and war

Nine decades have passed

Almost

Since the day that you were born

But I still see in you

That young and beautiful woman

So strong of will and determination

I see your joy for life

in your/those glittering eyes

The eyes that hold the future

Your love for life is so sincere

Each day for you is a special gift

Each day for you is a miracle

You often say

You want to stay

with us – as long as possible

As long as you may

as long as they above

will let you

Because the lives

You once have given birth

They’ve become five

Five generations now

You want to share your wisdom

with all of them

Share your love and experience

Then pass on the burning torch of life

Pass it on with a feeling of security

To the next generation

With a humble hope of expectation

That they will also want to

Pass it further on

My dearly beloved mother

To us you will always be

As young and beautiful as ever

Because this is what you are to us

For ever, dear mother, for ever!

JOANNA SVENSSON

JOANNA SVENSSON is a poet, writer and a novelist. Born in Warszawa in Poland but since 1975 she is living abroad. She has published 2 novels, 5 books of poetry, 2 in Swedish, 1 in English (publ. in USA), 1 in German and 1 in Polish. Has participated in 8 anthologies and been invited to 4 international. book fairs. Is a member of the Swedish Author Society (Sveriges Författarförbund), and the Polish Emigrant Author Society of London (ZPPnO). She is also very active in the cultural and literary society of both Sweden and Poland. Frequently visiting several prose- and poetry  festivals around the world.