Speech

November 2012

And if I would speak to you, my reader, how would I describe that moment, yesterday, when after a conversation about places and atmospheres I encountered it. And recognized, just like before, that moment of speech, when the city  addresses me directly.

The  low afternoon sun, straight from the west, ahead of me, lit the pavement and facades of the Grotemarktstraat as if to set them on fire. A warm orange fire. No flames, just warmth. The pedestrians and people on bikes all became evenly soft and grayish figures, actors in the scene of an old movie , and I was one of them, just until the shock of recognition made me stop.

I had to turn, step out, walk back and stay in that very moment for just a little longer in order to fully grasp it, to  frame, take notice how the street was alive and brought to life by light and figures. I had to stop to be able to write about it now, a day later in an airplane to other cities, I had to stop since she not only offered me that moment but also demanded me to receive it and to reveal it, to you, my reader: she made me act.

The city speaks, and I reply in silent words, later, on a page.

 

Klaske Havik