NeoArctic Libretto

Libretto by Sjón

GRAIN

1
song for plastic

poly–ester ester–poly
poly–thene thene-poly
poly–amide amide–poly
poly–methy methy–poly
poly–acrylic acrylic–poly
poly–styrene styrene–poly
poly–urethan urethan–poly
poly–ethylene ethylene–poly
poly–butylene butylene–poly
poly–carbonat carbonat–poly
poly–propylene propylene-poly

ester–ester poly–poly
thene–thene poly–poly
amide–amide poly–poly
methy–methy poly–poly
acrylic–acrylic poly–poly
styrene–styrene poly–poly
urethan–urethan poly–poly
ethylene–ethylene poly–poly
butylene–butylene poly–poly
carbonat–carbonat poly–poly
propylene–propylene poly–poly

2
song for dust

pulverised
by wind and by rain
blown from continent to continent

gathering
in the fur of polar bears
on the petals of arctic daisies
in the slopes of hills facing south
on the frozen crust of icebergs
in the wrinkles of a hunter’s face

battleships
wings of dragonflies
palaces
skulls of elephants
corn fields
blown from continent to continent
by wind and by rain
pulverised

3
song for mud

you are a mansion of many rooms
built on underground crossroads
mutated lifeforms
haunt your corridors
like sludge
seeping through wallpaper
decorated
with the shapes of dead idols
and expecting mothers

you are the loved one of zombies
reclining on a bed of excrement
lusting mouths
crowd your body
like bruises
spreading on human skin
tattooed
with the names of extinct plants
and unborn animals

you are the beginning and you are the end
you are repulsive and you are magnificent

4
song for minerals

raw material for a new crown

rare metals
precious stones
fearsome minerals

luminous and radiating
fluorescent and poisonous
wrested from the yielding ground
to be paraded from deathbed to deathbed

VAPOR

5
song for infinity

once upon a time
there was a storyteller
who only knew one story

the story was in three parts
each of the three was in seven parts
each of the seven was in nineteen parts
each of the nineteen was in thirty one parts
each of the thirty one was in seventy five parts
each of the seventy five was in nine hundred parts

no listener lives long enough
to hear the whole story
it begins like this:

once upon a time
there was nothing in our world

6
song for respiration

the white lung
the blue lung
the black lung
the green lung
the crimson lung

sighing
gasping
hissing
sucking
blowing

the aqua lung
the steel lung

inhaling
releasing

7
song for turbulence

a cloud of starlings spirals above a city
simulating the approaching storm

a flock of clouds spirals above the sea
the winds howl from all directions at once

accelerating
with the persistence
of the golden section

the oceans are torn in all directions at once
its waves are sucked up into the sky

simulating the retreating humans
the starlings take shelter in empty car parks

- it is the first day of summer

8
song for chance

last year’s constellations have changed places
a distant mountain has moved closer
the roads have turned to water

no map can show us the way home
over the drifting territories

a fourteen thousand years old woman
her ten thousand years old husband
their six thousand years old twins

they appear before us in the night
a chatty group of people:

those waterways have always been mantraps
this mountain has always been curious
the stars have never been happy

and the home you leave
is never the home you return to

RAY

9
song for electricity

circling the pole

we ride
the currents
of the magnetic fields

rounding the earth

we flicker
in the colours
of the aurora borealis

two lightnings striking at once

when we meet
I will sing your name
and you will sing mine

like neurones sparking off neurones

10
song for temperature

freezing point
dew point
bubbling point
boiling point
flash point
boiling point
bubbling point
dew point
freezing point
dew point dew point
bubbling point bubbling point
boiling point boiling point
flash point flash point
boiling point boiling point
bubbling point bubbling point
dew point dew point
freezing point

11
song for optics

a sprig of thyme
is mirrored in the eye of a ptarmigan

a drop of melt water
bends a glacier out of shape

a jumping hare
is mirrored in a quiet river pool

a field of snow
returns its shine to the sun

sprig/eye
drop/glacier
jumping/surface
snow/shine

a playground of elastic light
reflections of an absent god

12
song for colours

how many hours of blue can you live without?
- asked the white fox

the blue of red summer mornings?
the blue of clear winter nights?
the blue of four lips parting?

cobalt-azure-liberty-ultramarine-denim-indigo
sapphire-cerulean-lapis-independence-admiral
how many hues of blue can you live without?
- asked the white fox

the blue that makes your blood turn dark?
the blue that makes your skin turn pale?
the blue that makes your teeth shine?

name your colour blue
the moment a mouse
leaves a footprint in the snow
moonlight lines it with shadows of blue

that is the kind of blue I can’t live without
- said the white fox