Rolf Jacobsen (1907–1994) grew up in Oslo, Norway, but worked in Hamar for much of his life in a career that spanned more than sixty years. His many volumes of poetry gained universal acclaim, and he is revered as one of the twentieth century’s greatest Scandinavian poets. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. Jacobsen’s last and selected poems were published in the
collection The Roads Have Come to an End Now (Copper Canyon Press, 2001) and translated by Robert Bly, Roger Greenwald, and Robert Hedin.

A Few Delicate Needles

by Rolf Jacobsen

It’s so delicate, the light.

And there’s so little of it. The dark
is huge.
Just delicate needles, the light,
in an endless night.
And it has such a long way to go
through such desolate space.
People on couch
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