Neither poem has a title, and both were first published in the collection “Hjerteskog/Syđänmettä” in 2022, by Flamme Forlag.
Poem 1:
i en annen tid
staker jeg en elvebåt
så lett, den raser opp
Raisinjoki som en gud
urelva hvor steinen ligger
like under strømmen
og jeg er så lett
og det samme er båten
vi har alltid gjort dette, på grunna
English version, for translation purposes only:
in another time
I punt* a river boat
so light, it rages up
Raisinjoki** like a god
The primeval river where stone lies
just beneath the current
and I’m so light
and so is the boat
we have always done this, in the shallows
we were made for only this
*The river boat was traditionally pushed, or punted, rather than rowed, up the stream. That said, row or launch can also work.
**this is the name of a river and should be in italics
Poem 2:
vinteren kommer så raskt
grønne blader støpes i is
dette er Arktis, varmt på innsiden
svarte bølger hamrer mot stranda
måken skriker, stemmen sprekker
på deg vil jeg vente
på laksen som kommer tilbake i juli
med sølvskjell som funkler forvrengt
English version, for translation purposes only:
winter comes so fast
green leaves are forged in ice
this is the Arctic, warm on the inside
black waves hammer the beach
seagulls shriek, my voice breaks
for you I’ll wait
for the salmon that returns in July
with silver scales that gleam contortedly