Poem of the Week, week 3: Steinar Opstad "Ceasefire in Gaza, Snowy Night in Oslo"
Read a weekly poem by authors from Norway, throughout the year.
CEASEFIRE IN GAZA, SNOWY NIGHT IN OSLO
(18 – 19 January 2009)
We make angels in the snow
and fill the whole park with angels
that stand on each other’s shoulders
for from snow we have come
and to snow shall we return, floor upon floor
for people who stare out
of building block windows
in the seconds before the alarm goes
They stumble in the peeling corridors
and there are reports of non-war
while the snow embodies us
and the world stands still
We ask ourselves if truth
can be written white on white
like the letters of the word Peace
the words in the sentence: I refuse to kill
Steinar Opstad
Translated by John Irons at johnirons.blogspot.com
Read more poems by Steinar Opstad at poetryinternational.com
See the poem in Norwegian
Poem of the Week
Learn more about the series and see all poems here
