Breathing exercise
wrinkled hands rifle through berries
for a late summer birthday cake
the maggot-eaten raspberries set aside
the little life there, organisms too small
for the naked eye live on
in the compost bucket, they too are related
to some origin
soon the cake candles will be
blown out with nitrogen and carbon dioxide
a celebration of impermanence
the yearly breathing exercise
gets heavier each year
Pusteøvelse
rynkete hender renser bær
til bursdagskaken på sensommeren
de markspiste bringebærene blir lagt til side
det lille livet der, organismer for små
for våre øyne lever videre
i kompostbøtta, også de i slekt
med det opprinnelige
om ikke lenge skal lysene på kaken
blåses ut av kvelstoff og karbondioksid
en feiring av forgjengeligheten
den årlige pusteøvelsen
blir tyngre for hvert år
Footprints in the Clouds
in the fuel cell of a jet engine
dreams are made to come true
you gaze into the lap of heaven
through the cabin window, no gods
to be seen, the carbon footprints leave behind
invisible footprints, you think it’s possible still
to change course, the flight attendant asks
if you want seconds
Fotspor i himmelen
i jetmotorenes brenselsceller
gjøres drømmer til virkelighet
du stirrer inn i himmelriket
gjennom kabinruta, ingen guder
er å skue, karbonavtrykkene ligger igjen
usynlige fotspor, du tenker det fortsatt er mulig
å endre kursen, flyvertinnen spør
om du vil ha påfyll
Portrait
every doubt is a balance
between hope and experience
your shadow dances each time
you look away
the earthworm swallows the darkness
makes air pockets in the earth
its biography a void
where roots can spread
a charcoal sketch has captured a contrast
behind frame and glass, you step
from your own shadow, from now on
only art moves you
Portrett
enhver tvil balanserer
mellom erfaring og håp
skyggen din danser hver gang
du kikker en annen vei
meitemarken svelger mørket
lager lommer av luft i jorden
dens biografi er tomrom
der røtter kan finne feste
en kullskisse har fanget kontrastene
bak glass og ramme, du trer ut
av din egen skygge, heretter kan bare
kunsten bevege deg
_______________
Jon Ståle Ritland (Drammen, 1968) is a poet and ophthalmologist with a PhD in medical science. He has published five collections of poetry including Kroppsvisitasjoner (‘Body Searches’) 2004, Vannmerker (‘Watermarks’) 2009 and I bane rundt en gul ball (‘In Orbit Around a Yellow Ball’) 2014. ‘Body Searches’ and ‘In Orbit Around a Yellow Ball’ were published in English by Broken Dimanche Press and Sampson Low respectively. He lives in Ålesund, Norway.
Vilde Bjerke Torset is a Norwegian artist, translator and poet based in London. Her recent publications include the poetry books Apollinaire and Other Horses (If a Leaf Falls Press, 2022), What It Means When You Dreams: A to Z (AFV press, 2021), and the artist’s book Pareidolia - Dotremont’s Daughter (Timglaset, 2020)
Harry Man is a poet, editor and translator, his most recent pamphlet, co-authored with Endre Ruset is Utøya Thereafter: Poems in Memory of the 2011 Norway Attacks which is published by Hercules Editions. You can find more of his work at www.manmadebooks.co.uk
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