ManicDDaily

Dream Igloo Poem

I dream of a couple who live
in a igloo. 

One keeps trying to write poetry
about it.

The first lines are:
“when you asked me
to marry you,
you failed to mention
the igloo.”

Igloo doesn’t really scan, still
the poem goes on, describing how
the igloo owner promises
to keep the other always warm
with the fire that he carries
in his arms. 

They sleep, this couple, under
a throw of caribou, and depending upon
whether the dream poem is written in the first or third person,
a further cover of “me and you,” or a “tangle of
each one’s
sinews.” 

See what I mean about scanning.
Though I know when I wake, that I could make the couplets work,
in the same way that the couple
makes the cold work.
Words can certainly be made to fit together
as well as blocks of ice, or arms
of warmth. 

Except that the meanings
might get skewed.

For in the dream the frozen house
does not symbolize distance between the couple,
or an attempt to freeze out
the world.

Mainly the igloo is just where
the couple ends up, and though they do feel the cold more
as they age, they still love the blue that radiates from
the ice bricks, like bits
of preserved sky.

They stay warm enough too,
as long as together.

In fact, the dream poem tries to end
on that note—hoping to God that they “go out
as two,
beneath that throw
of caribou,”
when, of course, the way they really hope to go
is as one.

But it’s hard to rhyme lines about dying
with words like “fun” and the various other
choices. 

***************************

Another slightly weird poem for April!  Have a great weekend. 

This entry was posted on April 23, 2022 at 11:33 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Karin Gustafson poetry