they line up neatly
like a class best behaved
no whispering today
there’s a view of the sea
earshot of the factory
the road lies still
the fjord is still
are two stillnesses the same?
*
not every Hardanger gravestone says
but it’s the most common thing carved
thanks for everything
is the loose translation
for what is it thanks can be given?
*
tell me the sky – how it is, one more time
tell me the stream’s strong words
say after me
what I have meant
you know the things to do
they’re day-by-day
known to season
there is the need for a fresh coat of paint
remember to bring in the washing, the cat
(how many cats ago was that?)
and haul the boat before the storm
end of the day know all is done
du lever i vart minne
still living in our memories
høyt var du elsket
you much loved
there’s thanks for being dead as well
for getting out of the way
(no one puts that on a stone)
*
stand longer in my silence here
for it is love to stand
go with the mountain in my boots
because you have a touch of sky
the colour goes out of it
sky down and earth up
everything tending to night
*
here turf is weather
and weather’s a roof
my day and my night one
all are bones
clean as the dark to which we whistle
or else I’ll be damned
