Distant childhood! In the mirror of the earth you stand once again before the sad mind, with tearful eyes, on the sail of happiness; floating on the ocean of the heart— the trace of fresh rosary around your temple you used to wear. Now it is also withered, as in the wake of the storm; the feral hair wanders carelessly around the lily neck, with which I once lived happy days, but they were stolen so soon — and alone, unfamiliar with humans, I stood in a land, rich in corruption and crime, without balm for the tormented heart, expecting a never-brightened future. God! Then I felt that I was created, not just for the empty glare of the world, but fashioned for heaven, and I felt that my tender heart could beat freer at the sight of this heaven, whose stars, in the manner of saints, stood and looked ever so calmly to the earth. O! My sorrow was dissolved in endless, unspeakable love; with life's vibrance, refreshing winds blew the clouds away from my heart's gloomy sky.
Charlotta Öberg (1818-1856) (original translation by Prontobard 2022)