Insecurity’s Kingdom, Tomas Tranströmer | translation by Patty Crane

← v10n1, Spring 2011

The Under Secretary leans forward and draws an X

and her earrings dangle like Damocles’sword.

As a spotted butterfly turns invisible in a field

so the demon blends in with the spread-open newspaper.

A helmet worn by no one has taken power.

The mother turtle flees, flying under water.

translation politics poetry

Patty Crane

Patty Crane’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in American Letters & Commentary , Bellevue Literary Review, RUNES, The Massachusetts Review, The Spoon River Poetry Review, and West Branch , among other journals. Her awards include the 2004 Two Rivers Review Poetry Prize and Atlanta Review’s 2005 International Publication Prize.