ARNI IBSEN

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STOCKHOLM SUMMER VISITOR

for Ylva Hellerud

ringing the bell
awaiting response
looking at the names
i realize i may have friends
residing in strindberg's
last place of residence
on top of drottninggatan
under august "falaise"-like
cloud formations with
august's troubled head
obscured and upside-down
as in his own falaise-painting
my own face on foreign
shores upside-down where
i fool myself i speak
the language and fool
myself i may function
in spite of august i get
answered in english
whenever i open my mouth
to utter their language
still breathless after
the wonders of the vasa
museum where the
swedes have the
confidence to display
an ancient war machine
anno 1628 that
sank on its maiden
voyage due to faulty
design and a ballast
that was grossly
miscalculated deaths
were unanimous then
the salvage was the
greater victory the 1950s
divers the victors and
there's no response
so i turn away from
the bell and the names
on the door all so familiar
although virtual aeons
separate them i'll
come back tomorrow
weather permitting
unless i call the august
strindberg so listed
in the stockholm
telephone directory
to ask if his museum
is up to scratch
and should i
visit it … ?