Läksin marjua mie emoll'

SKVR XIII1 36·Metsäpirtti·1913·Collector: Koskivaara, Aleksanteri

In the SKVR edition: Metsäpirtti, Vaskela. Koskivaara 72 b. 13. Ikan Tarja.

Song types: Huoliensa haastelija, Äidin kuolo

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SKVR textEnglish

1Läksin marjua mie emoll',I went to gather berries for my mother,

2vuapukkua vanhemmall',Lingonberries for the elder,

3poimin puoloi mie putinan,I picked cowberries into my basket,

4asin kannen karpaloi,Filled a vessel with cranberries,

5vajin verran vuapukkoi,A shed's worth of lingonberries,

6sieklan täy(nnä) siehtarlaista.A full bushel of sichtarlaiset berries.

7Mie toin marjat muamollein',I brought the berries to the old woman,

8kulettelin kullallein.Delivered them to my golden one.

9Mie siit' maksoin muamon vaivat,With these, I repaid my mother's toils,

10maksoin marjoill' kesäll'.Paid with summer's berries.

11Siit' ko söi miun emmoin,When my mothers ate them,

12tuost on tyyty, tuost on täyty,From that came satisfaction, from that came fullness,

13tuost on tautii tapasi;From that, sickness took hold;

14läs vuuven vuotehess',In an aged bed,

15kaks' on alla kattehiin.Two lie beneath the covers.

16Jo alko iho märätä,The skin began to fester,

17pois on pohkeet loheta.The calves rotted away.

18Läksin noijill' mie kylill',I went to witches in villages,

19tietäjill taivosie,To celestial seers,

20astuin arvan tietäjill'.Stepped into seers' divination.

21Noijat sannoit kuolevuan,Witches foretold death,

22tietäjät paranevuan.Seers predicted recovery.

23Tulin noijilta kylilt',I returned from witches' villages,

24astuin arvan tietäjilt.Stepped away from seers' rites.

25Jo ol' vello vastassainThere stood my brother ahead,

26salon synkiän sisässä,In the dark forest's heart,

27karjan korven kainaloss'.At the cattle grove's edge.

28Mie kyselin velloltain:I asked my brother:

29"Mitä vestät, vellosein?"What are you building, brother?

30Vai vestät sotivenosta,Or crafting a war vessel,

31sotikantta kalkuttelet?"Hammering a battle plank?"

32Hiä vasten vastael':He replied:

33"En vestä sotivenettä,"I build no war boat,

34vestän muamolle maijua,I build a sauna for Mother,

35emolle elotuppua,A dwelling for our elder,

36mihin ei tuule tuulet kaikki,Where no winds may blow,

37ei sua joka satehetNo rains penetrate,

38ilman ovettommua,Without doorways,

39aivan akkunattomua."Utterly windowless."

40"Voi minä polonen piika,"Alas, wretched maiden am I,

41ko en olt kuollessa kojissa,Who was not there at death's hour,

42läss' en hengen lähtiessä,Did not catch the departing soul,

43olt en luona luopuessa,Nor near as life fled,

44suun alle sukertamassa,To slip beneath the mouth,

45alle leuvan luatimassa!"Beneath the chin to catch it!"

46Kelles nyt haluni huastan,To whom now do I lament my sorrows,

47kelles vien vetiset silmät,To whom bear my weeping eyes,

48kannan silmät kostuniet',Carry my dampened gaze,

49pakaelen miel'pahhain?Hide my anguished thoughts?

50Miän metsiä kesälläIn my summer forests,

51lehen kannan kasvaess',As leaves grow on boughs,

52vesan nuoren puhjetess'.Young shoots burst forth.

53Mie siel' sitt' haluin huastan,There I pour out my longing,

54pakaelen miel'pahhain,Bury my troubled mind,

55itken ilman lintuloill',Weep to the birds of the air,

56pakajan pajun vesoill';To magpies on willow branches;

57ne ei kerro kellenkänä,They tell no one,

58kullenkuan ei kuihuttele.However one might beg.

59Haletkuot nyt mielhalluin,Pity me now, dear heart,

60haletkuot nyt huastamatta,Pity me without words,

61paretkuot pakajamatta!Spare me without concealment!

English translations by DeepSeek R1, provided by Lidia Pivovarova (University of Helsinki). AI-generated translations may contain inaccuracies.

The text is that of the SKVR digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), with these changes:

The edition’s line numbers are replaced by a number on every verse, counted as in the poem reader.
The editors’ notes, and the marks in the verses that point to them, are left out; they can be read at SKS.

Source

Text: SKVR (Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot), the digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-071547 · Read at SKS ↗

Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.