Offerings of Poetry ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ Words only today, for I have been Spring Cleaning ~ are we allowed to say 'Spring' Cleaning ~~~ well I've been cleaning and clearing, New Year's Turning Out maybe? Along the way I found some long forgotten papers, folded up, yellow and faded, and no idea what lay within ~~~ so, with a little trepidation I carefully peeled them open and imagine my surprise to find poems I had written some years ago, some when I lived in Iceland and some I really don't remember when ~~~

~~~A long time ago, I had another online journal, Tales from a Celtic Heart and I shared a link to my Flickr Iceland album, which you can find here ~ so if you want, you can have a look at some of the pictures of Iceland that I took.  They are proper 35 mm film, and about 20 years old, so are grainy and gently faded, but full of character, and greatly loved and treasured for I was happy as a polar bear in snow when I lived in Iceland~~~

So, I am going to be brave and share, copy some of those long forgotten words here, and I will see what memories they bring for me ~~~

Iceland is a land of water, surrounded by water, with shining, shimmering water everywhere you look ~~~ you cannot avoid the water ~~~ rivers, lakes, waterfalls that will take your breath away ~~~ frozen water, glaciers, and snow ~~~ 

WATERS OF ICELAND

Silver, sprightful threads

Dancing in the breeze;

Cascading waters tumble

To the river far below and

Meander to the sea

Gushing, grubby torrents

Tearing headlong through the land

Spew forth from mighty glaciers

Ever~changing courses

Charging to the sea

~~~~~

Þingvellir {pronounced Thingvedlir} was one of my favourite places to visit. Part of the Golden Circle it is the site of the oldest parliament, the Althing, and sits across the mid~Atlantic Ridge.  In my heart, I always felt very 'Middle Earth' when visiting this special place, and this was my tribute twenty years ago ~~~

THINGVELLIR

Silent you lie, in dreams of long ago;

Lives have been born and lost on your shore.

Here did the Settlers make their laws work;

Here Christianity first made it's mark.

Oxarafoss, the toy of the gods

Tumbles and falls over moss covered rocks

To Dreykinggar as it waits far below

Where many a sharp, scolding tongue did go.

Almannagata, that gate of all men

Stands high, overlooking Thingvellir plain,

Here Njal fought with friend against foe

Within the rift, formed so long ago.

Here East meets West, near the Shores of your Lake

~~~~~

Of course, there was snow ~ many kinds of snow ~ and for over half the year snow was a fact of life, something that you dealt with every time you left your apartment, so this is my little ditty about snow in Iceland ~~~

NORTH WINDS SNOW

The North Wind is blowing

and there will be snow e're long.

It howls and it moans about our heads,

It squeaks in the cracks, wakes us up in our beds,

The snow starts to fall in the shimmering light;

When we wake up tomorrow, all will be white.

The shovels and scrapers wake up with alarm,

Winter is here boys, get up now and arm!

We've slept for six months, but now is our time ~~~

The paths must be cleared, it is our time to shine!

The children can't wait for school to be out,

To "Deadman's" they'll rush, with a scream and a shout,

Up the hill, down the hill, up once again,

Soon Mom will be calling, "It's time to come in!"

The snow plough is out, Two Alpha's arrived

Sent home from work, in our homes we must hide.

Hope we've got food in, I don't want to starve,

The Commiss'ry's closed and the wind's blowing hard.

For the time it is over, the roads are all clear,

But it will be back, soon enough, don't you fear!

All Winter long the North Wind will blow,

And time after time, we shall have snow.

~~~~~

Well, there you have some of my poetry now.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I remember writing it ~~~ already I am editing the words I wrote! I have some more, but will save them for another day.  Sorry, I know I promised you the recipe for the Marzipan Mincemeat Palmiers, and I haven't forgotten, I just wanted to share these words and it, somehow, didn't seem right to share the recipe with the poetry ~~~ it will be shared very soon, I promise you.