When the Ice Worms Nest Again
When the Ice Worms Nest Again
Original Text
Raw North. Edited by Charles Edward Gillham.
New York N.Y.: A.S. Barnes, 1947.
1There's a trusty husky maiden in the Arctic
2And she waits for me but it is not in vain
3For some day I'll put my mukluks on and ask her
4If she'll wed me when ice worms nest again
5In the land of pale blue snow where it's ninety-nine below
6And the polar bears are roaming o'er the plain
7In the shadow of the Pole I will clasp her to my soul
8We'll be married when the ice worms nest again.
9For our wedding feast we'll have seal oil and blubber
10In our kayak we will roam the bounding main
11All the walruses will look at us and rubber
12We'll be married when the ice worms nest again
13When some night at half-past two I return to my igloo
14After sitting with a friend who was in pain.
15She'll be waiting for me there with the hambone of a bear
16And she'll beat me till the ice worms nest again.
Publication Start Year
1938
Publication Notes
Bath-Tub Ballads.
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire, assisted by Ana Berdinskikh
RPO Edition
2009
Rhyme
Form