Dusk swallowed dawn into night
stretched as a shrouded corpse
forever dank, moon stars sun
lost to November when no amount
of lamps can color what is black,
the pale skinned huddle inside,
while a lonely dog owner tries
to hurry his freezing mutt to get
home. The breeze not yet frozen
absorbs the reek of rotting leaves.
In the mall Christmas junk is sold
bringing smiles to greedy children.
So this is Sweden in November
snowless still, no ice, wet feet
and stink of soggy wool; we hide
to wait in endless summer dreams.
Today Jennifer Wagner is our guest host at dVerse poetics and inpires us with the poetry of Ted Kooser writing poetry from the rural great plains. She shares the poem So this is Nebraska and challenge us to write something from our own part of the world. Sweden in November is not a pleasant place to be, so it fitted well for my usual dark poetry.
November 11, 2025
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I loved your poem, it’s so desolate and dark. The video was very enjoyable, too!
Thank you… November in Sweden is not very pleasant.
I though it was this one too but apparently its next week for this prompt – now its Melissa’s ‘Pivot’ prompt
Indeed I was wrong.
your poem makes the blackness so dense that other senses come to the fore – the smell of rotting leaves and soggy wool so vivid.
Indeed… it is as we are walking blind with lack of light
I find the dark hours here hard enough
Your imagery is fantastic, Bjorn. A rich, charcoal rendering that makes the reader shiver to the wet chill. Dark and magnificent sketching.
Thank you, the contrast when travelling south is so big.
That November darkness is so stark and overpowering, I feel like just staying inside until spring comes back. Love the smells too – reek of rotting leaves to stink of soggy wool. Seems that the best time to visit Sweden is summer.
It is the darkness that grabs me by the throat not the cold.
Nice one
much♡love
Thank you 🙂
Your wonderful poem definitely conveys the cold temperatures – but I remember the video you made once of your partner skating gracefully along a frozen canal – one of the beautiful aspects of winter where you are.
That comes later when light returns… I have no problems with cold, but the darkness is what makes me unhappy…
This is beautifully written, Bjorn. I love your vivid images of cold, and darkness, and summer dreams.
… November when no amount
of lamps can color what is black,
the pale skinned huddle inside,
while a lonely dog owner tries
to hurry his freezing mutt to get home
I love it!
It is really a very lonely place as well.
Being dark probably does not help either!
I think we tolerate the same type of November here…dull, drab and “in-between”. Love the image of dusk swallowing dawn into night.
Definetely you have some of it… but it is probably darker here. Sunset before 3 PM when it is at its darkest.
Nice one Björn
much♡love
I love how you captured Sweden’s winter darkness in this poem, Björn, from the opening image of dusk swallowing dawn into night, to the idea that ‘no amount of lamps can color what is black’, and the ‘wet feet and stink of soggy wool’. Hibernation is the answer!
I am longing for som snow to brighten it up
Enjoy the snow free weather
It will soon start snowing… the next few days snow will come.
🥶😱
I would guess that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is greater there due to your much shorter days.
I have not seen it as much here… maybe it is part of our culture to deal with it.
Perfectly captured dark, Bjorn. I could never…
Alas I have to…
It sounds very bleak , dark and lonely. I can smell those rotting leaves too. I hope summer comes around quickly. 🙂
I actually prefer when real winter comes…. summer is still far away.
Excellent Björn
Thank you Rob
Even in today’s hot weather here, I felt the chills and smelled the dark dankness
I felt some warmth coming from your place when reading yours.
Your Sweden is as I imagine. Darker than here, perhaps, but the greedy children are everywhere. How about a picture from you?
I tried to capture the darkness in my camera but it refused to register such dread
” stink of soggy wool” – the devil is in the detail, Björn, excellent portrayal of November in Sweden…
It is something about soggy wool that makes me think of the cold part of the year
The soggy wool brings back memories. The long dark nights of winter in the UK were too much for me. I can’t imagine what it is like there.
The AI picture is hilarious. Good write 👏
Excellent imagery, Bjorn. Will the snow light up your world?