Ode to Oslo

A poem and an invitation

This week’s email includes a short poem and an invitation for you!

As we hunker down for the winter, I wanted to share a moment of warmth with you this evening.

I love this city deeply, the same way I love many people in my life. I don’t know why this is the city for me (I’ve lived in lots of cities), but I fell in love with Oslo the moment I set foot here.

On the day I wrote this I got that feeling that we are all one, “expressions of our whole.”

I’d like to credit Maya Angelou for my use of the phrase about keeping a place inside me inviolate in this poem. I once saw a clip of her where she said “there's a place in you that you must keep inviolate. You must keep it pristine, clean, so that nobody has the right to curse you or treat you badly. Nobody. No mother, father, no wife, no husband, nobody.”

That idea has helped me through difficult moments in my life.

And now it lives in this poem, my ode to Oslo.

Want to try writing and performing your own poetry?

For my fabulous readers based in Oslo: I’m hosting a poetry circle this Thursday 26th October at 7-9pm at Vital Oslo, in collaboration with the trauma-informed somatic therapist and artist Živilė Virkutytė.

The theme this month is Odes to the Body, come join us as we integrate movement with poetry writing to help you write an ode to your own body.

To reserve and pay for your spot please fill out this form.

We offer student discounts and free places for those experiencing financial barriers to participation. Follow the link for more info.

And now for the poem - enjoy! Sound on.

This is ‘Oslo’

On that day

I was a clean and sparkling vessel

I moved through the dusty streets

Inside me I was clean

“That place in me I will keep inviolate”

A city for a goddess

And I loved them all

Knowing them expressions of our whole

Tram driver

Wailing child

Woman needle arrowed in her arm

I loved that hands of the ocean that lifted me up high

Crowd surfing

I am alive