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Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson: Two Poems Translated from Swedish by Fredrik Hertzberg, Karri Kokko, and Leevi Lehto
For a video of the author's reading in Swedish in Helsinki, Nov. 22, 2005, click here (3gp, 294 KB, 0:42)
1
You think things are bad but it's gonna get much worse.
You think you are intelligent but you're not.
You think you are interesting but you are boring.
You think you are good looking but you are ugly.
You think you are nice but you are nasty.
You say you're being bullied but you're the one doing the bullying.
You think you can speak French but you can't.
You think you are going to develop and improve but you are not learning anything.
You say you are in love but it doesn't seem like it.
You think you are going to cheer up but the opposite will be the case.
You say you love your children but that's bullshit.
You say you are going on holiday but your holidays are over.
You say you are threatened but you're the one who is threatening.
You hope you will earn more money in the future but we all know very well how it's gonna be with that.
You think nature is polluted but everything will only get shittier and shittier.
You think the world is unfair but that's nothing compared to what lies ahead.
You think the hole in the ozone layer is big but it's gonna get bigger.
You think you are a good poet but you are not.
You say you are horny but that's just your imagination.
You think the weather is bad but it's gonna get worse.
You think there's a lot of terror and war but this is just the beginning.
You think you are not that fat but that's just what you are.
You say you are happy but you don't seem happy.
You think you are alive but you are dead.
You think people like you but they don't.
You think you are appreciated at work but in fact you are totally worthless.
You say others are aggressive but you're the aggressive one.
You think you are cool and crazy but in fact you are a fake.
You think you are learned and wise and write well but in fact you are completely uninteresting.
2
I would rather be happy than sad.
I'd rather have a common cold than lung cancer.
I'd rather not feel lonesome and deserted.
I'd rather feel full than hungry.
It's better to be well than to be ill.
It's better to have two hands and two legs than not to have them.
It's better to have a job than not to have one.
It's better to be rich than poor.
It's better to be young than old.
It's better to kill than to be killed.
It's better to be alive than not.
It's better to be smart than stupid.
It's better to have a career than not to have one.
I don't want to be assaulted and raped.
I'd rather not become an alcoholic.
I'd prefer not to become physically handicapped.
I want my relations with other people to mean something.
It's better to be able to cope with things than not.
It's better to be a man than a woman.
It's better to be tall than short.
It's better to be liked than not.
Those who don't want to have children are strange.
All those who fight and quarrel are disturbed.
It is better to have read the Divina Commedia than not to have read it.
It's great to have traveled much and widely and to have seen the world.
I would prefer to enjoy life.
It's better to have been born in Europe than in Africa.
Peace is better than war.
Democracy is better that dictatorship.
I don't want to get strangled.
I don't want to burn up.
I don't want to drown.
I'd like to do something meaningful with my life.
It's better to have done a lot than to have done little.
I'd like to get rid of my headache.
I'm rather happy than unhappy.
Warm and sunny weather is better than cold and rainy weather.
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by
Jyrki Pellinen, with an English transl. by Leevi Lehto, out from
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