torsdag 13 november 2008

burn my clothes bury my fears




I visite this building almost every day and I've done so for years. It's where I'm working since 2002 - no, not at McDonald's, there are other things going on in there aswell. Before that I must have crossed the market square these statues silently observe a thousand times without ever noticing they were there. Until one day when their presence suddenly struck me as lightning.

There they stand. Side by side. Together, yet not. Separated by capitalism, and as a paradox: because someone once put them there as a reminder of hard work, struggle and submission. They do not look like fortune hunters, do they? The man and the woman barely dare to look each other in the eye. They seem unhappy and frozen. I've even sometimes wondered if they ever felt like jumping...

Yesterday it happened. I believe I finally saw them talking. It was at twilight when she turned her face towards him and whispered: "Let's leave", but this morning I saw them again, and nothing had changed.

I don't think they've made their minds up quite yet, or they are - like so many of us - just stuck between different worlds.

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Jag besöker denna byggnad nästan varje dag och har så gjort i flera år. Det är där jag arbetar sedan 2002 - nej, inte på McDonald's, det händer andra saker i huset också. Innan dess måste jag ha korsat det torg dessa statyer tyst iakttar mer än tusen gånger utan att någonsin lägga märk till dem. Tills en dag när deras närvaro plötsligt slog mig som blixten.

Det står de. Sida vid sida. Tillsammans, men ändå inte. Åtskilda av kapitalismen, men paradoxalt nog: för att någon en gång placerat dem där som en påminnelse om hårt arbete, kamp och underkastelse. De inte ser ut som lycksökare, eller hur? Mannen och kvinnan vågar knappt se varandra i ögonen. De verkar olyckliga och frusna. Ibland har jag t o m undrat ifall de någonsin känt för att hoppa...

I går det hände. Jag tror att jag äntligen såg dem prata med varandra. Det var i skymningen som hon vände sitt ansikte mot honom och viskade: "Låt oss ge oss av", men i morse såg jag dem igen och ingenting hade förändrats.

Jag tror inte att de riktigt har bestämt sig än, eller så har de - som så många av oss - bara fastnat mellan olika världar.

8 kommentarer:

M sa...

I stood on a very comfortable little piece of earth once. And stepped off into a completely different world. And I love it!

Sanna sa...

*kram*

Anonym sa...

*iiiiih* McDoof... ;)

Anonym sa...

thank you for this WONDERful story!

Andreas Haals sa...

"Av alla de så kallade naturliga mänskliga rättigheter som någonsin uppfunnits, är friheten den man minst ofta får billigt och aldrig gratis."

-andreas

Lady of the Lake sa...

M

From where did You recieve the courage, dear M?

Sanna

*kramkramkram*

Wortman

McDonalds. Never liked it much. But in the city where I spend most of my waking hours, it's placed in one of the finest old buildings there are. - and when I tell people where to find me 8-16 mon-fri, I never need to tell the adress: just "above McDonalds".
That's all. For some reason verybody knows it. *iiiiiiih!!!*

Matha

Be my guest, and thank YOU. *cyberhug*

Andreas

Inte mycket att tillägga där inte. Tack för din träffande konklusion och jag kan inte annat än hålla med. *kram*

M sa...

It is the one thing I still wonder at today. I think there was a moment, however short, in my anchored life (think Ostrobothnia...), when I realized I was the captain of my own life. It was a very strange thing to operate with certainty and calm when everyone around me were filled with doubt. I had made a huge stride in my life, but only on the inside.

Hehe, I become happy and giddy thinking about those days!

Lady of the Lake sa...

M

I love You for sharing these thoughts with me/us, M! One day I'll tell You why. *cyberhug*