pohjola

by Linda Ryynänen

Ice is not a living thing, she claims. Yet
it splits wide, open, cavernous. It moves

and it flows, and has dozens of names.
Sea ice and icebergs are two different

beings. I can name you ten more.
The Sámi say to go north is to go

where the water goes.

They ask me if we have polar bears
where I come from. I have seen

an ermine jump over the snowy rock
and spring upon the mice.

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Linda Ryynänen is a poet and writer living in Maryland. Her work most often explores themes of nature, memory, and the immigrant experience.