By Chance

By chance in the morning traffic one meets

a person one hasn’t spoken to

in more than twenty years; well, we’ve never actually

spoken but we’ve remembered

one another and followed each other’s lives

at a distance without knowing details.

And still such a smile, a hello

and a quick handshake can illumine

the bicycle paths and send a warm wave of

happiness and gratitude through the body

against the spirits that govern the world.






© Niels Hav

Translated by P.K. Brask & Patrick Friesen