The pastor talks with me
about Canada,
about Finland,
about the young people she supports,
the underprivileged and the frail.
We chat for awhile,
then she looks at me quizzically.
She tells me I should do something,
something she doesn’t tell
other people to do.
She says I must go to Lapland.
I must go to Lapland
and I must find a fire.
I must find a fire
and I must sit with the men at the fire.
I must sit with the men at the fire
because they do not speak.
They just sit at the fire in silence.
The pastor looks at me.
She says that I look like a man
who is comfortable in silence.