bedrooms
are unheated
floaty crispbread
type curtains
don’t keep out
the chill
that arrives
in the night
shattering sleep
turning limbs
into cold shards
untidily entangling
duvet with sleeper
into a tight ball
sunday morning
tea and toast
burn the toast
most mornings
somehow
the smoke + smell
evoke my son
a fellow
incinerator
hang around
chatting
washing up
sweeping floors
then
look up
big flakes
of snow
are falling
stirred to action
grab my camera
hurry keenly
to the river
try to film
snow falling
on the water
…not easy
brought a flannel
to dry off
the camera
but this is
fuktig snø
and soon
everything is
very soggy
it’s soon over
so settle down
to sorting
ordering
the hundreds
of photos
and video clips
I’ve taken
spend some time
faffing around
on the internet
leapfrogging bits
of information
images, texts
leading this way
and that
until a couple of
hours has gone
forever…
then touch base
through email
sending pics
and checking
all is well
with husband
with daughter
with son
with mum
etc
son asks
what I want for xmas
is it that
time already ?
start planning trips
to museums in Oslo
catching
something new
would be good
something unknown
come across
typical example of
Norwegian Utlitarianism
a modernist place
for a financier
ribbon windows
and pilotis
clean white interior curves
giving way to
rippled pink walls
chrome furniture
sitting on
a big black circle
outside forms include
cylinders and blocks
with splashes of colour
cobalt blue
bitter orange
looks inspiring
for photos + film
it’s only open
once a week
the halfway mark
has been + gone
ten days left
and plenty still
to do
but now time to eat
salmon potatoes salad
piquant pickle
now a glass
of white wine
would go with this
a treat
but for alcohol
a trip to
Vinmonopolet
is needed
a government owned
alcohol retailer
selling expensive stuff
to curb
alcoholic tendencies
it fairly distributes
and limits economic profit
socially responsisble
no doubt
but
quite galling
