A year later (English)

Written by Victoria Thomas – General Manager

In December of 2021, I stepped into the general manager position at Dysterjordet. The past year has flown by and a steady parade of to-do lists have carried me forward. Now that winter is here, I have been reflecting on the past season. As I reviewed some of my previous to-do lists, I discovered a task that had been skipped over.

It is not my professional or personal style to leave items unfinished on the many sacred to-do lists which fill my notebooks. With this message, I finally complete one of my very first to-do lists as manager at Dysterjordet: post a poem I wrote for our previous manager.

One of the highlights of our seasons is a thanksgiving meal (høsttakkefest). The høsttakkefest in 2021 was one of our previous manager, Natalie’s, last events as the manager of the farm. At that time, I was a board member and the board wanted to create a gift for Natalie to thank her for 3 wonderful years guiding and supporting Dysterjordet. I was inspired by my brother, who is an excellent poet, to create a small poem for Natalie, which we used as the final page in a photo book highlighting some moments from her years with farm. You can read the poem below, but first a few instructions to help you.

This poem is three poems in one, called a contrapuntal poem. First, read the left column as one poem. Next, read the right column as the second poem. Finally, read the poem from left to right as one, final poem.

A short while after Natalie received her gift basket, poem included, I learned that I would step into this position and she started training me for this role. Together we prepared for the general annual meeting and I settled into my new role. Soon I will prepare for our next annual meeting on my own, and I am honored to continue supporting such a wonderful community.