Once in a city

· by · in dVerse, poetry. ·

Once,
before we left for a house
we lived
and we thrived
in an attic-apartment
with a view
of roofs and rooms down below
we could see sky
more than the streets,
we were used to the voice
of the city, never disturbed
but once we had landed
our feet on the street
we walked
and we saw things in the shops
we never could buy
we passed by the bars
but mostly dined in,
the city was there,
a backdrop of life.

Now
we live in our house
surrounded by trees
and when we visit the city
we go the bars
we eat what is served
or buy what we want
and then we go home.

The view from the city apartment we once lived in

Today Punam hosts dVerse poetics with a prompt were we write about cities we love(d). My poem is inspired by how it was to live for us in a city (Gothenburg) before we moved to a house outside Stockholm. To me it seems like we never reaped the benefit of citylife, and now it feels more and more like we are visitors.

Janury 16, 2023

30 responses to “Once in a city”

  2. Your once in a city / now surrounded by trees resonates with me, Björn, having moved from a flat in London up to a house in rural Norfolk, albeit thirty-two years ago. I love that you wrote that you thrived in your attic-apartment, that you could ‘see sky more than the streets’, and that now you visit the city and then go home. I also touched on the voice of the city in my poem. The going home is the best part for me.

  8. Such an interesting introspective; it always felt like living above the city, and now there is a home to return to, city being the destination to visit. I just love the notion of that, and glad it encapsulates your poem.

  9. As someone who has always lived in a teeming city… am struck by “the city was there,
    a backdrop of life.” – so interesting because I can’t separate life and city…they are completely intertwined.

  11. Björn, your poem beautifully contrasts city living with the tranquility of a house surrounded by trees. The shift from the attic-apartment to the peaceful present is beautifully depicted. Well done, my friend!

    ~David

  13. You need money to appreciate what a city offers, especially if you have a family. We lived for fourteen years in Paris and never went to the tourist attractions or the opera or theatre.

  15. There is something special about being above it all that makes the city street feel more ethereal than corporeal. I had a wonderful room with a window seat in the attic of an old house at the top of a hill in Colorado Springs. I could see Pikes Peak. Your lovely poem took me back to it, to that odd liminal space that is of a place but somehow outside it.

  16. I love the contrasts of city life and one surrounded by trees. Where once I loved the city now I too live in the country and love waking up to bird song. I go to the city only to visit my children and then go home.

  17. A poignant look. I think I’d love that attic apartment, seeing sky more than street. Interesting contrast between living there but not being able to afford the conveniences vs moving away and then able.

  20. I love your comparisons betwixt city life and country, Björn.

    the city was there,
    a backdrop of life.
    ~
    we live in our house
    surrounded by trees

    I once lived in an attic that I called the Eyrie. I loved the views!

  21. Ah yes, home is sweet home. When I was a girl we built our home in two stages … basement above ground and four years later our home. I could so relate to you living in the apartment looking down. Loved your poem, Bjorn. See you Saturday if I can drag myself from warm bed.

  23. It reads like you exchanged the city for the suburbs, but still appreciate what the city has to offer – and now you can afford it. I think this is a very common experience for many of us who were originally students in the inner city. Am I right?

  24. And then we go home, when we live in th eouter or in the country, we can choose to leave the city behind, I know I do. Loved this Bjorn.

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