The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.2004, Qupperneq 42

40
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 59 #1
Memories”, the poet deals with the most
difficult of subjects, the death of his father
by suicide. Fred comes from a large, close-
knit family with roots in both Icelandic and
Manitoba culture; the family history is
inseparable from Icelandic history and lit-
erature, Icelandic Canadian immigration
and, specifically, settlement in the
Libau/Netley area.
In “The Last Loon of Long Lake” the
poet prepares us for what is coming by
describing the death of a loon. He sets the
scene with “The Landing at Anderson
Lake”. When the reader finally begins the
“Last Shot”, he is prepared for the
inevitability of the coming event. In Part 1
the poet describes the experiences that bind
father and son.
marshland memories
with gill nets
fishing for mink feed
and out-of-season pickerel
Easter holidays trapping muskrats
hunting, banding ducks
but at the end of the section he
describes himself as deliberately missing a
mallard that comes their way after a fruit-
less day of hunting. Something then of the
past is missing and fear of the present is
clear. In Part II he describes being told of
his father’s death. He concludes with a
quote from when his father complimented
him on having shot well, “’Good shot,
Grizzly’” but it is a compliment deep with
sorrow.
The final poem, “Morning After the
Thunderstorm”, ends on a hopeful note,
not just in the title, but also in the final
image.
As leaves transform to butterflies
butterflies are leaving
from dark chrysalis bursting free
tumbling from
inside of me
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