First Love
The brook's first bubbles are the first to break:
spring's first blossoms are the first to wither,
but your first love, young heart,
will outlive every other.
Den första kärleken
by Johan Ludvig Runeberg
Först går bäckens första bubblor sönder,
först förvissnar vårens första blommor,
men din första kärlek, unga hjärta,
överlever länge varje annan.
Translated by Janice D. Soderling
Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804 - 1877) is one of the major Finland poets who wrote in Swedish. This short poem is much loved even today and has been set to music.
Janice D. Soderling is a previous contributor to Barefoot Muse with translations from Swedish. Her work appears in forums such as Centrifugal Eye, The Flea, Pedestal, Horizon Review, Literary Bohemian, ditch. A fiction is in the recently anthologized Best of Our Stories, and another is forthcoming at The Chimaera.
