Over the course of the past few months, a small group of climate-interested Uppsala residents have been gathering to discuss climate fiction. The group was initiated by the Zennström Climate Change Leadership professor in order to explore how we might rethink, re-relate to, and reimagine our experiences of climate change in more creative forums. In our most recent meet up, we were tasked with bringing poems, short texts, and songs that reminded us of winter. Below are two poems written by Carolina from sparklets selected from 9 of these pieces. We realised, as Carolina read them out to us, that the meanings and tempos drastically change from the different orders through which they can be read.
It is December and nobody asked if I was ready
I just want somebody to hold me through the night
Aflame among the rest
When your cheeks are wet from weeping on your own
Stuck in a frozen state of shame
My soul instantly ignores what was there before
Perhaps the future is a tiny flame
Ring, happy bells, across the snow
There were no reindeer, but there were cats
…
There were no reindeer, but there were cats
Ring, happy bells, across the snow
Perhaps the future is a tiny flame
My soul instantly ignores what was there before
Stuck in a frozen state of shame
When your cheeks are wet from weeping on your own
Aflame among the rest
I just want somebody to hold me through the night
It is December and nobody asked if I was ready
…
These sparklets were taken from the following texts: A child’s Christmas in Wales, Dylan Thomas; Ring Out, Wild Bells, Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Winter Without You, Sarah Kay; The Cold Swedish Winter, Jens Lekman; Green and Red, Oisin Challoner; En Liten Konstnär, Nils Ferlin (translated by Urban); Gässen Flytta, Dan Andersson (translated by Urban); Untitled, Jakob Willerström
