There is No Wind in Oslo by Mark Strand

Read the new poem by the American poet and professor

  • By Mark Strand
  • Smithsonian magazine, May 2012, Subscribe
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Poet Mark Strand
Poet Mark Strand (Christopher Felver/Corbis)

“My dear,” said the traveler to the young woman,
“life has not been kind to me; I went north in
search of the famous Alaskan pigmy dog but never
saw one; I went south to catch a glimpse of the
long-tailed, blue-green African rhino and failed
again. Inconsolable, I gave myself to the sullen
glory of great poems and ended up here, on the
windiest corner of the windy city.” “Go to Oslo,”
said the young woman, “there is no wind in Oslo.”


“My dear,” said the traveler to the young woman,
“life has not been kind to me; I went north in
search of the famous Alaskan pigmy dog but never
saw one; I went south to catch a glimpse of the
long-tailed, blue-green African rhino and failed
again. Inconsolable, I gave myself to the sullen
glory of great poems and ended up here, on the
windiest corner of the windy city.” “Go to Oslo,”
said the young woman, “there is no wind in Oslo.”

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Comments (1)

There is no poetry in this issue of Smithsonian.

Posted by PAUL RYAN on May 9,2012 | 06:03 PM




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