The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.2008, Qupperneq 44

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 61 #4
Poetry
Strandarkirkja
by Darhl M. Pedersen
The light that shone on shore that night
Was beacon blessing in their plight.
Though they were common to the oar,
They knew not which way would lead to shore.
Without a guide, their way was lost.
Engulfing storm their lives would cost
The sky was darker than the sea
All looked the same from port to lee.
Each hand was eager for a mighty row,
But there was no notion where to go.
The waves were pounding distant shore,
But they could not hear for ocean’s roar.
The craft was pounded, mercilessly.
It was not enough for open sea.
Their clothes of skin were soaked within
As the veil of life was ever thin.
Each man had yielded loved ones to the sea,
It had taken an unfair share of family.
Each name had a cherished place in heart.
What further lists would the sea impart?
Without a miracle, they’d be lost at sea.
Then, light appeared in their infirmity.
It was not the way they were want to go.
They had been moving away in steady row.
It was a magnet to draw them near.
A feeling of peace now replaced their fear.
Their silent prayers had united them, there.
And with force of faith their lots would share.
Skerries and boulders stood in their way,
But their path was laid as in clearest day.
The light they saw brought their boat ashore.
They accounted it to God and nothing more.
When they threw themselves on hallowed ground,
The light they knew could not be found.
They did not agree what they had seen.
For some, ‘twas light for others, being.
For men who’d fought both land and sea,
They had been tamed by adversity.
In honor of their answered search,
They build their fabled, little church.
In Iceland folklore, the Strandarkirkja church was established according to the
events described in the poem. It is one of the richest churches in Iceland (though it
has a congregation of just a few people) thanks to the contributions of countless
seamen who are counting on it to bring them luck at sea.