NewPoetry

Nevada-Jane Arlow

i recognized you first as the queen of love and magic
when you slept upon the dutch u-boat
flippers crossed, all pretty-like. befitting of a lady

sleep and rest, that rest the loud ocean never permitted you
even long after the jötnar perished, this evaded you
your wandering flipper went kingdom to kingdom
and the bourgeois ferryman’s vessels became your jest
freya, shall i wrap your russet body in your feathered cloak?

freya, i cry red gold for you
and i watched the molten pearls fall into the atlantic
down, down into the frigid depths
Fólkvangr awaits you, my beloved girl
i sing your songs while you go
may they cross yggdrasil to find the openings of your ears

freya,because i am weary in this world
i will not taste food again until i dine with you
instead i will push it through my left cheek,
to bypass my tongue and into my throat

the oslo council had a city meeting
“grass is only allowed to be this high
there’s a new bike lane
and we’re going to shoot the walrus”