by Karin Boye (1900 - 1941)
Translation by David McDuff (b. 1945)

Ingen andlös sommarnattshimmel
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
Ingen andlös sommarnattshimmel
når så långt in i evigheten,
ingen sjö, när dimmorna lättar,
speglar sådan stillhet
som den stunden --

då ensamhetens gränser plånas ut
och ögonen blir genomskinliga
och rösterna blir enkla som vindar
och ingenting mer är att gömma.
Hur kan jag nu vara rädd?
Jag mister dig aldrig.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Karin Boye, karinboye.se/verk/dikter/dikter/den-stunden.shtml, Karin Boye Sällskapet


Text Authorship:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):


Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-14
Line count: 11
Word count: 51

That hour
Language: English  after the Swedish (Svenska) 
No breathless summer night sky
reaches so far into eternity,
no lake, when the mists lighten,
mirrors such stillness
as that hour -

when loneliness's limits are effaced
and the eyes become transparent
and the voices become simple as winds
and there is nothing more to hide.
How can I now be afraid?
I shall never lose you.

Confirmed with David McDuff, www.karinboye.se/verk/dikter/dikter-mcduff/that-hour.shtml, Karin Boye Sällskapet


Text Authorship:

Based on:

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-14
Line count: 11
Word count: 57