CAROLINA SANDELL

1985 | Jonköping, Sweden | time and space
 
 
follow the pattern on the wallpaper with your gaze
past a yellowed patch, get stuck at a seam
blink for an instant, three hours have passed
 
listen to sounds that can barely be heard
the alarm clock’s ticking
suddenly ear-splitting
 
second is piled upon second
or rather second after second, eternal spirals
the same circuit, but still new
 
fluid time that passes in the canal under the bridge
layers of time measured in the depth of the dust
or in the snow that falls despite the fact that it was just summer
 
the smell of time
sickening like soured milk,
or pleasing like old books
 
when you awaken from your torpor 
the snow is already half way up the window
even though you live on the second floor
 
the only way out is through the skylight in the attic
and you ride off 
on Too-ticky’s snow horse
 
someone once said
that from our worst experiences 
the best art comes