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by Karin Boye (1900 - 1941)

O en klinga
Language: Swedish (Svenska) 
O en klinga,
sviktande böjlig och stark,
o en smidigdansande klinga,
lydande stolt den strängaste lag,
rytmens hårda lag i stålet --
o en klinga
ville jag vara till kropp och själ!

Dig jag hatar,
du mitt usla videväsen,
du som flätas, du som vrides,
lydande tåligt andras hand.
Dig jag hatar,
du mitt lata drömmarväsen.
Du skall dö.
Hjälp mig, mitt hat, du längtans syster,
hjälp mig varda
klinga, ja klinga,
dansande svärd av härdat stål!

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Karin Boye, karinboye.se/verk/dikter/dikter/o-en-klinga.shtml, Karin Boye Sällskapet


Text Authorship:

  • by Karin Boye (1900 - 1941), "O en klinga...", appears in Moln [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

  • by Gustaf Norén , "En klinga" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

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

This text was added to the website: 2026-01-16
Line count: 18
Word count: 76

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