Heyr me hreins your floor

with my hreim.

Does my skin screams

skinka to you?

Mask my menntun

to ease your mind.

Key kunnátta:

Kann-you-tala?

Nobody’s daughter

In a land of dóttir

Nobody’s bother

In a land of bróðir

Soon I’ll be crowned your kona

without króna.

No, your börn are no burden,

I’ll burn my best.

Now, set as the stúpid-stjúp,

I’ll stuck in my stjórn.

There’s much more to your eyja

than met my eye.

Nobody’s daughter

In a land of dóttir

Nobody’s bother

In a land of bróðir

Use my skills for your fjöl-skilja.

Spit my spine in your spitala.

Kærastinn mean, your heim has no tala.

Kærastan means my hreim has no enda.

“I paid you to speak Icelandic.”

Who pays you to speak in public?

Many more Íslenska sem annað male.

Many more than Enska sem annað maid.

Belt my broken tongue with ofbeldi,

my ís-lend-ska at poka-stigi.

All ‘cause you don’t want me in your Alþingi.

All ‘cause I don’t worship you with all my lífi.

Nobody’s daughter

In a land of dóttir

Nobody’s bother

In a land of bróðir

Left to take

my own lyf.

No friendly

frændi.

Veik with work.

Ein with pain.

Got to be

góðan dying.

Dóttir mín í kví, kví,

Hvíl, hvíl í kvíða.

Nobody’s daughter

In a land of dóttir

Nobody’s bother

In a land of bróðir

But my children will chill your tongue.

They’ll hear my hreim and feel heim.

For they will be someone’s daughter

In your land of dóttir

They will be someone who bothers

In your land of bróðir.

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Hreima – A daughter’s drápa mixes icelandic and english words, representing a reality spoken by many migrants in Iceland in their journey towards Icelandic language. Structure and rhymes are inspired by old Icelandic metrics (dróttkvætt, galdralag, fornyrðislag, etc) with internal rhymes and alliterations. A drápa is long poem in Old Norse used to honor kings for their deeds in battle. Here, the author wants to honor the intelligence that lies behind an apparent broken speech, and underline the chaotic migrant experience in Iceland.

First published in Ós Pressan – The Journal, Issue n.6, 2022, performed at the launching event in 2022, Reykjavík Poetics open mic in 2023, and more.