czy świat umrze trochę [PL: if the world dies a little]

czy świat umrze trochę
kiedy ja umrę

patrzę patrzę
ubrany w lisi kołnierz
idzie świat

nigdy nie myślałam
że jestem włosem w jego futrze

zawsze byłam tu
on - tam


a jednak
miło jest pomyśleć
że świat umrze trochę
kiedy ja umrę

Halina Poświatowska

****

If the world dies a little
when I die

I look, I look
dressed in a fox collar
the world goes on

I never thought 
that I am a hair in its fur

I have always been here
It - there

Yet
it is nice to think 
that the world dies a little
when I die 

*************

Om världen dör lite
när jag dör

Jag tittar, jag titar
klädd i en rävkrage
går världen

Jag tänkte aldrig
att jag är ett av håren i dess päls

Jag har alltid varit här
Den - där

Ändå
är det trevligt att tänka
att världen dör lite
när jag dör

** Translations to English and Swedish, my own*** 

świat jest pusty [PL: the world is empty]

świat jest pusty
odkąd poszedłeś
nie można żyć bez materii uśmiechu
świat umarł
na pożar lamp
blady księżyc
ponad twoimi ustami
dogorywa
świat jest zły
odkąd poszedłeś
szczerzy zęby
i futro wilcze napina
to co było ciepłem zwiniętym w kłębek
nie jest
świat - kosmicznie zgubiony w sobie
z zimna drży

Halina Poświatowska

************

the world is empty

since you left

one cannot live without the matter of smile

the world died

onto the blazing lamps

under your mouth

the pale moon 

is dying

the world is evil

since you left

it is grinning baring its teeth

and the wolf skin tightens

what was rolled up in a ball of warmth 

is not

the world - cosmically lost in itself

trembling from the cold

***************

världen är tom

efter det att du försvann

man kan inte leva utan leendets materia

världen dog

på lampornas brand

under din mun

är den bleka månen

döende

världen är ond

efter det att du försvann 

den blottar sina tänder i skratt

och vargpälsen stramas åt

det som rullades ihop i en boll av värme

är inte

världen - är kosmiskt vilsen i sig själv

darrande av kyla 

**** Translations to English and Swedish are mine****

bądź przy mnie blisko [PL: be close to me]

bądź przy mnie blisko
bo tylko wtedy
nie jest mi zimno
chłód wieje z przestrzeni
kiedy myślę
jaka ona duża
i jaka ja

to mi trzeba
twoich dwóch ramion zamkniętych
dwóch promieni wszechświata

Halina Poświatowska
*********************************

be close to me 
because only then
I will not feel cold
the cold blows from space
when I think
how great it is
and what I am like
I need them
your two closed arms 
two rays of universe

***********************************

var nära mig
för endast då
har jag inte kallt
kylan blåser in från luften
när jag tänker på
hur stor den är
och hur jag är
jag behöver detta
dina två stänga armar
två av universums strålar


* translations to English and Swedish - my own

Random Thoughts On Nothing In Particular

It's been a hectic month, this month of June. I spent most of it on a train, but managed to squeeze in some travelling and celebrations as there were so many public holidays. I have been dreaming of a writer's hut and swallowed books.

We have seen some flats and almost cursed the situation in Stockholm, finding a flat is almost impossible. Funny enough, it was easier to find work than a place to live.
I started going to the gym at work, it's great.

Working in Sweden is completely different than in Slovakia. Once a week we have an hour to do whatever we want for our wellbeing (known as friskvårdstimme in Swedish, we celebrate with bubbles when the company shows positive numbers and the Friday fika is a holy thing.

The best thing - the very best thing - is that I will have three weeks of paid holiday even though I just started working in May. I'm planning to take the holiday in October and I'm already dreaming about faraway lands. It's exciting.

It's good to be back! :)

Hello Polish [Language Challenge]

Long time no see. But my language studies have continued and next time it is time to begin with Polish [an evaluation of my progress in Slovak will come later next week].

I did learn from past mistakes and decided to take a small test of Polish, in order to have some idea of where the journey would begin. As a reference point, I decided to use the Polish proficiency test at www.transparent.com at http://www.transparent.com/learn-polish/proficiency-test.html

So, no perfection but the score is OK.

I believe that I need to work on:

• Some grammar 
• ...but mostly vocabulary. 

Vocabulary is the key for communication! As with Slovak, focus will be placed on creating text and translation. Here the advantage is that my Polish is a lot better than my Slovak so I will be able to create more freely!

A Piece of Paradise

There, in a forgotten corner of the world, in a place with little human life and almost complete silence, one may find a piece of paradise. The silence is broken by the sound of calm waves rolling in and the murmuring sound of birds chasing each other. I think I found just that - a piece of paradise. A place where one can sit and become absorbed - absorbed in thoughts and in serenity. A place where the world ceases to exist, where the elements meet each other. 

. 

Mango & Peach Smoothie

This mango & peach smoothie is refreshing and the lovely color is energizing. [Oh. Let's learn languages the smoothie-way..] The following ingredients are needed for 2-3 servings:
1 mango
1 apricot
Some orange juice
Skimmed milk.

Just throw everything in a mixer and enjoy.

Prísady: mango, broskyňa, pomarančový džús a mlieko bez tuku

Składniki: mango, brzoskwinia, sok pomarańczowy i mleko beztłuszczowe.

Ингредиенты: манго, персик, апельсиновый сок и обезжиренное молоко

Oops. [Language Challenge]

This week, while working on my language project/challenge, I realized that I had completely forgotten one of the essential rules of goal setting - having a tangible goal. 

How can I really see any improvement if I don't know where I stand and have no idea where I am heading?

In order to solve the issue I decided to jolt down all the words that I could think of in Slovak in order to define my current level. The solution is far from ideal because it wasn't thought through. I also don't believe that the amount of words can be used to measure one's level in language.It doesn't work that way - in the ideal life, quality should come over quantity.

Apart from this mishap, I am quite happy about the challenge so far. I have done some writing, I have learnt some new vocab. All in all, it's fun AND it's a way to kill time on the train. 

Pictures from the week that was.

Yet another short week. Today is the National Day of Sweden, which essentially means that most people are off work. What luck that it is on a Friday. For me this is great news because it has been rather tough getting into that daily routine of getting out of bed at 5.20 am and returning home at 6.30 pm. I don't mind the work, and I really don't mind sitting on a train (in fact, it's rather comforting), but suddenly it feels like I have no free time.

Mariehamn

Vagnhärad

Stockholm

Básnik sa modlí za deti

In my Slovak book (Slovak for You) there is a wonderful poem written by Milan Rúfus and I thought I would share it with you.

I have translated the poem into English and Swedish. Both translations are below. At the end of this post, you will find a youtube video of another text by Milan Rufús. Listen to it, and you will hear what a wonderful language Slovak is.


Básnik sa modlí za deti 

Nevedia prečo,

no vel'mi im to treba.

A možno ešte viacej ako chleba.

Aby im v duši pusto nebolo.

Aby ich mali radi okolo.

Aby im bolo mäkko

ako v mame.

Ked' bolia veci, ktoré nepoznáme,

tu každé diet'a,

plaché ako laň,

na hlave musí cítit' teplú dlaň.

Bože,

o takú dlaň Ťa l'udské mlád'a prosí.

V čase, ked' ešte ani nevie, Kto si.

Nášiel Ťa hore ten džavot tenkých hláskov?

Nášiel. Dal si im liek.

A nazval si ho láskou. 

The Poet Prays for the Children

Not knowing why,

but it was to them very necessary.

Perhaps even more so than bread.

So that their souls would not be empty.

So that they would be loved.

So that they would feel as soft

as in their mother.

When the unknown hurts,

here each child,

shy as a dove,

must feel a warm hand on her head. 

God,

the human youth is begging You for such a hand.

In a time, when it does not yet know, Who you are.

Did the chatter of thin voices find You up above? 

It did. You gave them a remedy.

And called it love. 

Poeten ber för barnen

Utan att veta varför,

behöver de det så mycket.

Kanske även mer än bröd.

Så att de inte känner sig tomma i själen.

Så att de blir älskade. 

Så att de känner sig mjuka

som i mamma.

När det okända gör ont,

här ska varje barn,

skygg som en duva,

känna en varm hand på sitt huvud. 

Gud,

en sådan hand ber människobarnen dig om.

I en tid då de ännu inte vet Vem du är. 

Hittade pladdret av tunna röster Dig däruppe?

Det hittade dig. Du gav dem ett botemedel.

Och kallade det kärlek.