The scent of fresh wood by Hans Børli

The scent of fresh wood
is among the last things you will forget
when the veil falls.
The scent of fresh white wood
in the spring sap time:
as though life itself walked by you,
with dew in its hair.
That sweet and naked smell
Kneeling woman-soft and blond
in the silence inside you,
using your bones for
a willow flute.
With hard frost beneath your tongue
you look for fire to light a word,
and know, mild as a southern wind in the mind,
there is still one thing in the world
you can trust.

Printed in
Norwegian Wood Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way
by Lars Mytting