Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson

Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson Poems

In the beginning I grow very fast, as a newborn I am 51 centimeter, then I become 52, then 53, 54, 55 an 56 centimeters. On my first birthday I measure 63,
...

I would rather be happy than sad.
I'd rather have a common cold than lung cancer.
I'd rather not feel lonesome and deserted.
I'd rather feel full than hungry.
...

Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson Biography

Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson (UKON) was born in Umeå in 1965. He is living in Gothenburg, working as a poet, translator, and psychologist. He is member of the editorial boards of the magazines Glänta, OEI, and Psykoanalytisk Tid/Skrift. Among others, he translated Jacques Roubaud into Swedish.)

The Best Poem Of Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson

I grow

In the beginning I grow very fast, as a newborn I am 51 centimeter, then I become 52, then 53, 54, 55 an 56 centimeters. On my first birthday I measure 63, when I am two I have reached 90 and when I am three years and 244 days I cross the limit of one meter. Between four and five I grow 7 centimeters and the following years 6, 6, 5, 4, 6, 3 and 4. At 13 I am 159 centimeters, the year after I have grown radically and suddenly I measure 167. The results of the next year is an even bigger increase and I am become 179. The next year I grow 3 centimeters, the following 2 and then 2 again. Then the growing remarkably slows down and I become only half a centimeter taller. Between 35 and 38, according to my measures, nothing happens at all. But my 38:th year suprisingly shows an increase of 8 millimeters. In my 39:th year I shrink 3 millimeters. In my 40:th I shrink 2. The following years I shrink 2, 2, 1, and 1 millimeter respectively. 45 years old I enter a new phase and shrink (probably as a consequence of a severe and tiresome disease) 6 millimeters and the year to come somewhat more and I am measuring 183 centimeters in my stockings. Between 47 and 55 I start growing again, in average half a millimeter per year. 55 years old I make a big leap towards the sky and grow 14 centimeters, my 56:th year shows almost the same increase and 57 year old I measure 219 centimeters. The follwing years I shrink 15, 12, 12, 18 and 22 centimeters respectively. And on the day of my retirement, 65 years old, I measure only 85 centimeters. Two years later I have become 31 centimeter shorter and I match the length I had as a newborn. The following years my length is divided in two and at 70 I am only 25 centimeters tall. At 72 I have lost 24 more and during a rainy summer my length is only half a centimeter but then - finally - I start growing again and my length is doubled five times in two years. So at 76 I measure 2, 5 centimeters but the next year becomes radically different and I grow 3000%, that is 1 meter and 11 centimeter. The next year I triple my length and at 84 I measure 3 meters and 91 centimeters. The next year I disappear completely but the following I grow 34 meters. But the next I shrink 45 and during a gruesome easter holiday I measure a terrifying minus 11 meters. Luckily I catch up quickly and I end my days, 88 years old, on my ideal lenght, 24 centimeters, that is the distance between the nipples of my mother.

Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson Comments

Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson Popularity

Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson Popularity

Close
Error Success