On this very special day in history, which seems very dark right now – not only because it’s November, but also because Trump was elected a second time – our family (who right now live in 4 countries) is trying to not drown in despair and sadness, by sending each other uplifting podcasts, songs, articles. Somehow my thoughts go back to the pandemic and how we all tried to find ways to manage, and live our daily lives.

I don’t usually write poetry but isolated in an apartment I had borrowed from a friend in Lund in Sweden a poem came to me. I also participated in the pod radio series Radiodråper which was a project initiated by some sound practitioners mainly in Denmark:

“Chokket over alt der sker, er først nu ved a synke ind i vores kroppe. Det kan være svært at tænke klart og langsigtet (og ikke mindst være modtagelig for ansporinger til handling) mens man kæmper med en hverdag i indespærring. Vi befinder os altså lidt endnu i en ‘reaktiv’ position; men vi må ikke fortvivle og slå os selv i hovedet over det. Vi tænker istedet at det er tiden til at styrke os selv og hinanden. Her kan det være godt med erfaringer, beretninger, poesi, noget der bygger kampgejst og fællesskabsfornemmelse midt i isolationen.”

I am reading my poem in one of the episodes and listening to that and the other episodes brings me back to those first months of the pandemic. We managed to survive and get back on our feet and continue our lives even if it did give us all some scars which will never heal.

Maybe it’s time to make uplifting podcasts again to help each other survive the coming years. And of course it’s not only the election of Donald Trump that makes me despair. It’s the state of the world in general….