Photo by Jeffrey F. Barken

Notes From Iceland

-Poetry by Dallas Athent

~

sleek silk shines under both sun and snow.
:::these are the mountains of norse:::
lava boiling in bundles creates homes for hiding.
fire and ice,
u and i,
we meet on the moon.

~

what does it mean to be on the moon?
so far, so blue.
crater baby of *stars*,
crater baby of MAGIC,
crater man of //wars//,
crater woman of (wonders).
what does it mean to be lost at sea?
a crashing boat waging wars against ur heart
and i love u.
come to talk now, feed me the whale
the massive mammal now emerging.
the whale’s blood is thick, like the ocean.
salty and cold, like my spirit.
salty and cold.
(salty and cold.)

~

ikea box plopped.
studded tires strapped.
a haggis haggled meal.
no trees,
no tears,
no fears,
no whale.

~

they don’t know me,
these fighters.
they don’t know the dallas i got left
to battle snow with suns of other isles 
and wind with a new kind of force.
they don’t know the heart in my heart
creates spring of sulfer burned
always boiling.
so, so rude.
what to do?
always blue.
always true.

~

so what do the viking stories say about dallie?
they say she talks shop.
comes down from the mound
on her tiny blonde horse ; ) 
they say she fought and won and won and then lost.
she did a good fight but the horse was too small.
they say she’s gone.
they say she lost.
they say i lost.
i am not lost.

***

Dallas Athent

 

Dallas Athent is an art reviewer for At Large Magazine, a board member of Nomadic Press and the editor of the short story collection, Bushwick Nightz. Her writing has appeared in Buzzfeed Community, PACKET Bi-Weekly, PANK Magazine, VIDA Reports from the Field, BUST Magazine, Yes Poetry & more. She has been an editor for Bushwick Daily and Luna Luna Magazine. Her work, both literary and artistic has been profiled in Bedford + Bowery, Brooklyn Based, Brooklyn Magazine, and Papermag, among others.