Gökotta – Siegfried Baber

Gökotta

This is a poem about your favourite word,
which is Swedish, and has no translation.
This is a poem about making coffee
in a quiet kitchen before it really gets light
and thinking about your favourite word,
which is Swedish, and according to various sources
expresses the act of waking early to hear
the birds singing at sunrise. This is a poem
about coffee and birdsong, but also the old man
walking his dog across the frozen field
and the distant disturbance of traffic on the bypass.
It’s a poem about telephone wires.
It’s a poem about the local station spinning
‘Sunshine Superman’ while someone’s husband
drinks the milk from his bowl of cereal
or someone’s wife smokes her first cigarette
under the chimes on the front step.
It’s a poem like any other; how everything waits
to be noticed. And your favourite word,
which is Swedish, and has no translation.

Siegfried’s poetry has featured in various publications including Under The Radar, The Interpreter’s House, online with The Compass Magazine, and as part of the Bath Literature Festival. His pamphlet When Love Came To The Cartoon Kid is published by Telltale Press.
Follow Siegfried on Twitter: @SiegfriedBaber