Pétursdóttir
Pétursdóttir took a boat all the way to Svalbard.
With a little seed cupped in her little hand.
The seed was her father
and the boat was her love
and Svalbard was the only safe place she could think
to take him.
Pétursdóttir knocked on the door of the doomsday vault
and asked in a little voice from her little mouth,
'Let us in please.'
But the vault was empty.
Nothing stirred.
Not even an icy wind to freeze the tears that came.
Pétursdóttir lay down in the snow
and died where she lay,
with the little seed cupped
in her little hand.
Waiting for the doomsday vault to save them both
and what warmth there was left in her
woke the seed.
*Amy Rafferty is a Glaswegian living in the West Midlands. Her poetry and prose can be found in several anthologies, publications and ezines. Two of her poems were short listed for the international Fish poetry prize in 2010 and in 2009 she received a highly commended mention for her poetry collection, Pétursdóttir and the Land of Tiny Voices. She is currently working on a debut album with her band, The Recovery Club and is studying for her Mlitt in Creative Writing at Glasgow University.