LARS RAATTAMAA
THE NAMES DISTANCE THEMSELVES
The children with distorted voices
open their sacks over
the swamp of leaves
The sign's text
between the trunks of elms
is smudged out by rain and weather
So the white wall is lit in Kavli's office
split by
the glass shadows
the fuzz of the surprises, the grown
water
there shine, shine and rotate
the name brands
between the forest and the trainyard
The children with the empty sacks
move without being seen
in the swamp
you can hear their wet
feet
You can hear how someone is felled
and lies there
They are not of a helping race
And while weeping is gathered
in split buckets
the names distance themselves
mycelium force their way
through
and cover the sleeping
while they sleep
Hospital green and hospital white
They wake are not many
a woman, maybe 30 years old
approximately 160 centimeters long
wearing a thin
white jacket with a hood
and light green cotton pants,
out on the road, ahead of the bus, cycles
a lady around 50-55 years old
dark blue dress
The cycle is hand painted
purple and gold
The forest doesn't stretch
farther than to the playground
There we meet the red piles of bricks
(ring around the roses
a pocketful of neuroses)
No, it isn't really awake yet
Bus 144 isn't even half full when
it turns in toward Älvsjö station
The green grocers' stands are lying
on the ground
Children have been here, trails
of gasoline
and cloth wind
up the stairs, along
the ramp, over
the tracks
Some children
are laughing down on
the platform, some inside
the fence, by the shacks behind
the fairgrounds
(the shadows are green)
Leaflight glass roof night
pennants
Here another forest begins
it isn't mine
Give it a name!
° ° °
flame; crash; news; punish; praise
ha-
ve
the orange color dies, an arrow on the bridge at Samarkand
erb area
ryan; sux; pix
on the pillar under the bridge
chemistry; poms
the year's; rudy
gobi; fast; rene
in the corner råby road--turinge road
wau, written above chemistry
ha-
ve
gones, 35 turinge road
rent iiikl gobi on a lamp post
power
in the adjacent electrical cabinet
turinge road--the ols huddinge road
number 459: news; flame
number 458a: have
smir
wonder
why..nan
pinkie
at the video store south of the south end
the old huddinge road 439
at the intersection with the stigtomta road
ha-
ve
örby school
rabble; flame, avid
and on the electrical cabinet is a poster that
someone has tried to pull down
tonight one more/swedish woman will be raped/stop violence against women
vote swed/
swedish democr/
under the poster: goose; nille
ha-
ve
on the bus hiuho
the old huddinge road 422
has sofie; teresa scratched in the glass
urbe
the old huddinge road 420a
ha-
ve
on the side of the house
the old huddinge road 409
the block the ball-bearing at
the corner ludgo road, is scratched
camilla; sara n anne; mazer; i luv boys
sara 4-ever
anna n sara
robin; jenny; i luv thomas
zandra
drop; diva; kenn
the block the flat tire
on the sign that shows the way to bandhagen; högdalen
crash; guts
ha-
ve
a black high-heeled ladies' shoe on
the sidewalk outside örby konsum
and on the other side of the thruway
is written chids
four times on four connected electrical cabinets
ha-
ve
on the other side--chids; bare riox
örby glass, tosterö road 21
(the old q8)
stile; rudy; terz
kare; next
aux; site; ha
and on the metal eaves
kir; nox; taiwa
and farther away
fate; anus; glock, nan
roms; flame; rudy
grozier; riot; chids; gut
and in pink green and silver
rudy
god is gay
sara marie sofie and anne
on the noise barrier--sero; aux
it is the map given
the tunnel of leaves up to the road to örby castle
ha
-ve
rudy; rudy
the bus stop örby castle
titian; poled
the yellow star on örby castle
rudy
there are railings here
in the corner örby avenue--julita road
up on the cliff you can see all of stockholm
the markings on the transformer station
26 östberg heights is painted over
here begins the summer
Translated
by Bill Coyle.