Day of Eino Leino, Poetry and Summer

The sixth of July is the day of poetry and summer. The day is also dedicated to Eino Leino, who is one of the pioneers of Finnish poetry. One of the most beautiful Finnish poem is Leino's Nocturne:

Hark! My ears are catching corncrake’s clicking,
Silver moonlight shines on cobhead corn;
Summer evening’s blessing me, enriching,
Valley’s wreaths of smoky slash and burn.
Neither joying I, nor grieve I, mournful;
But for forest’s darkness am I yearnful,
Rose-gilt clouds the day’s protracted ending,
Windy sleeping hill o’er all extending,
Fragrant twinflower, shortening, lingering shade;
These the things from which my heart-song’s made.

Lady June-July, for you I’m singing,
Great the silence of my ardent heart,
Merry music make, for faith is mounting,
Verdant wreath of oak eternal start.
Foolish errands now I’ll make no longer,
Fortune blessèd hands will grasp the stronger;
Rippled pool of circles now decreasing;
Time has ceased and weathervane is sleeping;
Stretches road at twilit end of day,
Bound for home unknown, I take its way.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ruislinnun laulu korvissani,
tähkäpäiden päällä täysi kuu;
kesä-yön on onni omanani,
kaskisavuun laaksot verhouu.
En ma iloitse, en sure, huokaa;
mutta metsän tummuus mulle tuokaa,
puunto pilven, johon päivä hukkuu,
siinto vaaran tuulisen, mi nukkuu,
tuoksut vanamon ja varjot veen;
niistä sydämeni laulun teen.


Sulle laulan neiti, kesäheinä,
sydämeni suuri hiljaisuus,
uskontoni, soipa säveleinä,
tammenlehvä-seppel vehryt, uus.
En ma enää aja virvatulta,
onpa kädessäni onnen kulta;
pienentyy mun ympär’ elon piiri;
aika seisoo, nukkuu tuuliviiri;
edessäni hämäräinen tie
tuntemattomahan tupaan vie.

        Translation by Rupert Moreton


These stairs are in park of an old Hatanpää manor house, where I had a walk with Sami. The picture looked a bit empty so I added Finland's national animal Brown Bear. There are estimated 1 405–1 535 Brown Bears in Finland, most of them live in the Eastern Finland and Lapland.

Although this is a day of poetry and summer, weather wasn't very summery, only +12 degrees and it also rained a bit. Emma came home from Lappeenranta in the evening, she and Heli had a great trip!



+12,5°C, cloudy, light rain