we steam down whale roads from the North
scoffing fish and peas we bypass ice floes
and don’t wear coats sleep under a duvet
of starlight and rain our black metal bands
sing epics of midnight supermarkets long winter nights
of Nordic Noir beer no-one’s cooler than us
men who put up shelves flat pack furniture
and pillaging with Allen keys round our necks
make landfall on pebbly beaches our seaweed beards
legs of pine we chant our blizzard songs
at the ocean in our brains every year
we bring the storm butter the muffins chuck
these Vikings are hangry set out trestle tables
and chairs spread on barms the potted meat
fizzy pop and fruit salad one glacé cherry
per serving here we come in splendid array
but we don’t wear horns they’d only get
in the way of our berserkers crashing over
the sanddunes breaking over coastal villages long lost
to the sea till back we go longboats
filled with a haul of sagas in our holds
.
Steve Waling
.