~~~

Night—a twelve-wheeler
goes by making the dreams of
the inmates shiver

~~~

The boy drinks his milk
and sleeps cozy in his cell,
a mother of stone

~~~

They kicked the football
suddenly confusion—the ball
flies over the wall.

 

_[translated from a Swedish book for boys in prison by Robert Bly]_

Tomas Tranströmer was born in 1931 in Stockholm, Sweden. He attended the University of Stockholm, where he studied psychology and poetry. His books of poetry include _The Half-Finished Heaven_ (Graywolf Press, 2001); _New Collected Poems_ (1997); _For the Living and the Dead_ (1995); _Baltics_ (1974); _Paths_ (1973); _Windows and Stones_ (1972), an International Poetry Forum Selection and a runner-up for the National Book Award for translation; _The Half-Finished Sky_ (1962); and _Seventeen Poems_ (1954).

Robert Bly is a celebrated poet and translator. Author of over 30 books of poetry, including _The Night Abraham Called to the Stars_ (HarperCollins, 2001); _Snowbanks North of the House_ (1999); _What Have I Ever Lost by Dying?: Collected Prose Poems_ (1992); _Loving a Woman in Two Worlds_ (1987); _Mirabai Versions_ (1984); _This Body is Made of Camphor and Gopherwood_ (1977); and _The Light Around the Body_ (1967), which won the National Book Award. (from “poets.org”:http://www.poets.org)

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