Akesson, Sonja

English

University of Montana

CutBank Volume 1 Issue 7 CutBank 7 Article 25 Fall 1976 From Mother translated by Inger Casey and Lee Bassett Sonja Akesson Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank  Part of the Creative Writing Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Akesson, Sonja (1976) "From Mother translated by Inger Casey and Lee Bassett," CutBank: Vol. 1 : Iss. 7 , Article 25. Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cutbank/vol1/iss7/25 This Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in CutBank by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu. Sonja AkessonFROM MOTHER—Today I’m feeling a little bettermy legs are a little bit betteryour fa ther’s th roa t is also betterbut of course he can hardly speakand last night I threw up againin the bed and I wet the bedand your father who can’t hear a wordand doesn’t understand a thing I ask foryes it’s difficult when one can’t seeworse now when the spring sun is stingingmy hands which grope and gropebut one must be glad and  th an k  Godthere are others who have it worse.Though it’s rare that anybody drops in o yes Signe was down and whined yesterday yes Siwert was d runk  as usual if only she d idn’t get so hysterical as soon as he takes a nip but she yells and sceams and goes on and suddenly he gets mad she had a bandage, you know as big as this on the back of her neck he had beaten her she said to the floor but we fortunately d o n ’t hear anything and as I said to Signe be glad there are wars and  worse misery.One can th ink—yes think abou t A unt Idaas she saved her social security and pinched and scrapedand d idn’t allow herself to eatnow they will take all of it in the nursinghomewhere she sits with her horrible hooksof hands and hooks of feetbut of course she has it quite well where she isthere are many who have it worse.24Sonja AkessonThough of course one wonders and asks sometimeswhy some people have to live like thatyear after year after yearwhile others like your brother for instancehe who was so handsome and happyit’s lucky that Elsi didn’t die toowhen she threw herself on the coffin and screamedand screamed when they screwed on the lido how he played and sangnewly married and Elsi with the little boy.But best what happensbest also for our little Babybest that she got peace poor little thingand to get this old and hardlybe able to keep going no just barelythat is not much of a lifebut one must still be gratefulthere are many who lie lameyes everything is for the bestlittle Sonja we shall not complainno, one should be glad and thank Godthere are many who have it much worse.Translated by Inger Casey and Lee Bassett25

From Mother translated by Inger Casey and Lee Bassett

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From Mother translated by Inger Casey and Lee Bassett

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