The Polar Night and the Midnight Sun
There is light in the world,
all of which has escaped from the Sun.
Light can be seen
and by light we can see.
How enlightening!
There is also darkness in the world.
Darkness of the mind and darkness of the sight.
The polar night, that we call kaamos,
is a tough situation.
That sunless duration,
that conquers the poles,
as our tilted globe moves
on its year-long orbit,
leaving the northern and southern caps
in alternating shade for long periods.
Close to the North Pole, in Finnish Utsjoki,
the Sun disappears below the horizon for seven weeks.
Still, in this darkest of times,
at least the suggestion of light remains.
It brings comfort, such as the scent of roasting mocha
when one is withering from coffee deprivation.
There is a similar darkness in the Antarctic.
By then, summer will have returned to the north
and joy and light will reach their zenith.
The Sun will not once consent to set.
For the tourist, the night without night denies belief.
They have to wake many times,
to peek through the blinds.
22:00 sunshine.
00:00 sunshine.
02:00 sunshine.
04:00 sunshine.
How can anyone live in such an impossible country?!
Heli Laaksonen
