(nyckel = key / harpa = fiddle)

Bosse Karlsson made for me
this marvellous viola
that can play in tune
thanks to three rows of keys
or tangents set in place
to stop the strings
at proper intervals
a boon to Swedish farmers
fingers stiff from fieldwork
or perhaps like me
too lazy or too late
to learn the violin

But it's more than ease
of playing
it's the quality of sound
delights both audience
and player
it's the added resonance
almost harp-like
of sympathetic strings
that form a sonic aura
round each note
played by the bow

After six hundred years
it disappeared
until one man
revived it from the dead
Eric Sahlstrom who
taught his countrymen
the secrets of construction
and the art
of making this folk fiddle
come alive

Now it's moved out
beyond its native land
across the planet
even here in Oregon
it has its coterie
of players
folkies like me
who love its tonal palette
love the tunes
some sad and soulful
some that set
both heart and feet
dancing to Swedish polskas