George Hammond
Helsinki
Puhetteko englantia?
The train south from Tampere
crosses the reality of winter,
no ski-brochure pictures
of glittering snow, sparkling sun.
All there is, is a dull expanse
of blue-grey light overlaid
on featureless snow, frozen lakes,
and trees swept bare by wind.
Puhetteko ruotsia?
And when we arrive in Helsinki
everywhere is bi-lingual
Swedish and Finnish.
We get around by cab
or trolley, Hakaniemi
down to Töölönlahti
breaking language
at every corner.
Ja, svenska kan jag liten
We trip down to the frozen harbour
watch the ice-breakers steaming out.
We stand in a blizzard on Esplanadi
snow driven horizontally through us,
constantly checking thermometers
disbelieving that we can endure this.
Sheltering at the Lappi restaurant
we eat fried reindeer for lunch.
The train south from Tampere
crosses the reality of winter,
no ski-brochure pictures
of glittering snow, sparkling sun.
All there is, is a dull expanse
of blue-grey light overlaid
on featureless snow, frozen lakes,
and trees swept bare by wind.
Puhetteko ruotsia?
And when we arrive in Helsinki
everywhere is bi-lingual
Swedish and Finnish.
We get around by cab
or trolley, Hakaniemi
down to Töölönlahti
breaking language
at every corner.
Ja, svenska kan jag liten
We trip down to the frozen harbour
watch the ice-breakers steaming out.
We stand in a blizzard on Esplanadi
snow driven horizontally through us,
constantly checking thermometers
disbelieving that we can endure this.
Sheltering at the Lappi restaurant
we eat fried reindeer for lunch.
Page(s) 12
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The