the sea does not divide
the sea unites
the sea ties together
for it is the same water that rolls onto our shores
and the same, deep river, a river through the sea
rounds our coast
the ocean’s great heating coil:
the gulf stream

and without the gulf stream
the birds would never migrate to the north
and herald springtime with song and silver amongst the shoreline rocks
and the midnight sun would hang by a thin thread
like a cold coin in a dead currency
in a frigid vault

without the gulf stream
darkness would fall over our homes
and the houses we live in would be abandoned
and the traces of our lives would be worn away by silence

without the gulf stream
the potatoes would freeze hard in the earth and the trees would lose
their crowns, laughter would reverse and joy would
give notice of change of address
and Norway’s northernmost town would be called Namsos and the night
would be devoid of light and only the distance
between the stars would be visible
black void of the heart

for without the gulf stream
ice would engulf our latitudes
and lay waste to the land

forget not, then:
the ocean mirrors the heavens
the gulf stream
this heating coil
stretched from coastline to coastline, from person to
person, for we are continents
that meet in this firm, flowing
handshake

Prologue by Lars Saabye Christensen, presented by the author on board a Norwegian
Coast Guard vessel during the inauguration of the "Vesterålen 2000 celebrates the Gulf Stream"
project, on 18 September 1999. In addition to local representatives, the ambassadors of three
"Gulf Stream nations", Mexico, Guatemala and Iceland, participated.
Translated by Tim Challman