Edith Södergran: Vierge moderne

Vierge moderne
I am not a woman. I am a neuter.
I am a child, a page and a bold decision,
I am a laughing glimmer of a scharlakanssol ...
I am a network for all glupska fish,
I am a toast to all women's honor,
I am a step towards chance and disaster,
I am a leap in freedom and self ...
I am the blood whisper in the man's ear,
I am a soul chills, meat longing and denial,
I am an entrance sign to the new paradise.
I am a flame, candidates and dashing;
I am a water, deep but hardy up to the knees,
I am fire and water in the context of honest free conditions ...

The poem in Swedish
An English translation by Stina Katchadourian