snæugla // snowy owl

Even on this misty mountain path in my country, you drag your tattered
shawl of worry behind you, caught in scraggly branches of thought.
Nearing me, you think you see a small, lichen-shrouded stone in
your way. Before you see my golden eyes, my wings. Before I reveal
myself to you. And yet you think me broken. Ghost, you ask, why do
I carry this loneliness. þogn, þogn, strange traveler. If you really want
to know this country you must listen with your eyes. To live in the dark,
you must leave the land of light you think you know. Before it flies.

gluggi // window

Who are you to look for—to see into—another place. Another
culture. Tourist, rootless stranger skulking on moss. Scavenger-skáld,
cloud-citizen, staring through my glass at fog-draped mountains,
shifting light. Your eyes, your mouth, your small breath-etchings:
nothing holds. Some say it’s the dead who roam the land. The sagas
set in stone. Yet you: pouring through. Will never immerse or adhere.
An American, no-less—in your synthetic, waterproof pants. Spill
your green dollars into krona. Get your passport stamped. And go.

Author’s Note

These poems were inspired by a trip to Iceland, where I became immersed in the landscape and the language, while also reading ancient skaldic verse. I incorporate Icelandic language into the poems because I love the sound of the language, and to connect my poems to the culture that inspired them. While there, I spent a month alone, hiking mountain trails, exploring the lava field of an active volcano, and swimming in geothermal rivers and pools—in search of healing during a challenging time of my life, with my mental health deteriorating. My spirit in solitude was fertile for the lessons of rivers, streams, moss, lava and steam, but I think, and hope, these lessons will apply widely to many readers.

Robert Fanning is the author of six full-length collections of poetry: All We are Given We Cannot Hold, (forthcoming, Dzanc Books, 2025), Cage (forthcoming, Salmon Poetry, 2025), Severance, Our Sudden Museum, American Prophet and The Seed Thieves, as well as three chapbooks: Prince of the Air, Sheet Music, and Old Bright Wheel. His poems have appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, Shenandoah, Gulf Coast, The Atlanta Review, Waxwing, THRUSH, Diode, The Cortland Review, The Common, and many other journals. He is a Professor of English at Central Michigan University, as well as the Founder/Facilitator of the Wellspring Literary Series in Mt. Pleasant, MI., and the Director of PEN/INSULA POETRY, a resource for Michigan poets. For more information, visit: www.robertfanning.wordpress.com.

Published January 15 2025