Summer Night by the Fjord

July 8th 2013, 21.30

Instead of writing another silly text about wheelchair access along the beaches in Spangereid and the Spangereid Canal (obviously it was possible to go there by wheelchair since I took the photos), I’ll let the photos speak for themselves along with Ketil Bjørnstad’s lyrics to the song “Sommernatt ved fjorden” (“By the Fjord”). This is the last blogpost from Spangereid…

Jæger rows.
In front, there’s Oda sitting
In a boat they found somewhere.
The night wind whispers in my hair.
And from my window I see
That the summer’s soon a memory,
But now the north light glows.
May God bless the one who rows.

Now the boat
Is gliding. Jæger drops the oars
And takes her by the hand.
He knows that she will understand.
She smiles. I see that the boat
Barely manages to stay afloat.
It dips its nose in shame
As their fever starts to flame.

Hours fly by.
A blackbird wakes us up. I see
My sister resting there,
Her hand caressing his dark hair.
A little boat glides away
As the night becomes the edge of day
Beyond the Hvitsten shore,
And he takes the oars once more.

Then the night
Surrenders to the sudden light.
My sister blinks her eyes,
A seagull calls out in surprise,
And then he rows toward our house
While I shiver in my summer blouse.
But Oda’s warm embrace
Brings the colour to his face.

Now he ties
The boat beneath my window, then
He stands up very tall
And lifts her up. She seems so small.
And he loves all that she is,
But he knows she never will be his.
He kisses her at dawn,
With the rising sun, he’s gone.