Longing is silence. The snowdrift over the plain is so fine
that it is hardly there. I think of face upon face
through the drifting snow. Longing. Silence.

 

Lengsel er stillhet. Snødrevet over sletta er så fint at det
nesten ikkje er der. Eg tenker på ansikt etter ansikt
gjennom snødrevet. Lengsel. Stille.

 

Translated by Annabelle Despard.

From Eldrid Lunden (1940), Flokken og skuggen, Aschehoug, Oslo 2005. The English translation comes from poetryinternationalweb.net, 2012.

Poem of the Week. 52 poems throughout the year

Take part in a weekly journey through 52 poems by authors from Norway throughout 2019 – Norway’s year as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

From the time when the earliest texts were recorded in runic inscriptions, poetry has had a strong position in Norway. By introducing a new poem each week throughout 2019, we aim to highlight the quality and breadth of Norwegian poetry. «Poem of the Week» presents 52 poems, inspired by the changing seasons and the passing of the year. The selection has been made by Tone Carlsen and Annette Vonberg, and consists of poems from the earliest handwritten manuscripts up until today, with a special emphasis on contemporary poetry.

You can find all poems in this series here. Read more about Norway as Guest of Honour at Frankfurt Book Fair here.