'NORWEGIAN WOODEN HOUSES': A POEM FROM MY VISIT TO NORWAY SOME YEARS BACK...

 Norwegian Wooden Houses…

Steep-roofed houses

Like colourful toys

Sat not comfortably

In uncomfortable surroundings:

An outcrop of rock

At the mouth of a fjord

Perhaps,

Or impossibly near the summit

Of an inhospitable, sparse cliff 

Maybe,

Or surprisingly nestling in the foothills

Of a snow-capped mountain

Possibly,

Or satisfactorily tucked at the shore

Of the cold, grey, creeping sea-water,

Rarely…

Mustard-yellow dwellings

Like dolls’ houses

Sat not ruggedly 

In rugged surroundings:

The scalloped tiles

On damp, snow-strewn roofs

Often,

Or the neat balconies

Of first-floor exits

Generally,

Or the erect, white poles

Of billowing Norwegian flags

Usually,

Or the pure sense of neatness

Of belongings, like English inner-cities,

Rarely…

Pete Ray

My visit to stay in Bergen and explore the surrounding areas in 2006…