Once upon a time, I knew a man. I met him at a writing course which he was teaching at Bøler Library. That’s where I live now, in Bøler. It was he, Nils, who put Bøler on the map for me. I had driven there once for work, picking up a young person while I was working in child welfare.
Me and Nils, connected. We met sometimes, and drank coffee or beer together. We chatted about life, the written words, art and everything between heaven and Earth. One day he invited my son and I to his cabin in Tvedestrand. A beautiful seaside Norwegian town, surrounded by beautiful nature.
There I named him «Grumpy Old Man.» He agreed. He was funny with a dark sense of humour, fair-minded, demanding and giving. He was an all-rounder who had a very colourful Resume. The only child of two artist parents with a Norwegian father and a mother of English origin.
We were in contact until we were not. Today, while I was killing some time in Seville before taking the bus to Lisbon, I was scrolling on Facebook.
It had been a long time since I heard anything from him, and I decided to look at his page. I discovered that he had passed away. Reading about his transition did something to me.
This time he put the fragility of unpredictable life on the map for me and I feel a strong desire to honor him by sharing a poem he had written.
Even though I didn’t think I would have time to write before starting the Camino Portuguese walk, I made the time.
Nils Amund Raknerud, I wonder what you would have said if I told you I wanted to share one of your poems with the Wise and Shine blogger Community?
Thank you for our shared journey. And you once again remind me of something. The Fragility of life. One second we are here and the next second, we are gone. None of us survives this life.