Saima Harmaja



Saima Rauha Maria Harmaja (May 8, 1913, Helsinki – April 21, 1937) was a Finnish poet and writer. She is known for her tragic life and early death, which are reflected in her sensitive poems.

Quotes

 * Nyt varjo vain on edessäni elon matka. Ja takanain on tuskan tie, se jot’ en jatka. Mun takanain on kevät alla julman kirren. Sen elää sain, sain kynnykselle suvivirren.  Sen mukanaan vei käsi kallis, kylmentyvä. Nyt suven maan nään sydämessä hauta syvä.
 * Now but a shade ahead on my life’s course will languish. Behind is laid my now abandoned way of anguish. Behind me lies the spring beneath its cruel icing. It life supplies – to summer verses’ door enticing.  It’s taken me, this chilling hand that yet I cherish. And now I see in summer’s heart that I must perish.
 * A poem from the collection “Hunnutettu” (“Veiled”), translation by Rupert Moreton (1936)