Address of the Valkyrie of Hafnarfjörður 2017

Eva Ágústa Aradóttir was the mountain queen of the town of Hafnarfjörður in
the national day. Eva is the first trans woman to serve as the national spokeswoman at
Official celebrations. Eva, who is a native of Hafnarfjörður through and through, read a poem by
Bryndísi Björgvinsdóttur. The Valkyrie is a symbol or personification of Iceland. The Valkyrie
first appeared at Icelandic Day in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1924 and afterwards
Since the establishment of the republic in Iceland in 1944, a woman in a national costume has traditionally delivered the speech.
Maid of Honour speech at the 17th June celebrations.

National Day Poem/Address
Valhalla in Hafnarfjörður 2017

Do you still want
Draw in the stream
sunlight
and the glacier-carved Hammer,
Seagull and swan – our faces.

Do you still want
to weave into the sea
my town
and in your blue cloak,
fish and boat – our days.

————

Not just one mountain,
one visit
or a single place-name.
A whole landscape,
a thousand paths
and even more places to stay.

We who chat with the lava
We communicate in a strange language.
which can never be described on paper.

The lava teaches us everything about patience.,
suggests that the soul is not in the body,
– holds that the body is the soul –
that the soul is that – multifaceted and all sorts of things.
And so life goes on.
in a whole landscape, a thousand trails – and even more places to stay.

—

Do you still want
to carve into the lava
ecosystem
and in moss and heather,
landscape and memories – our bodies.

Bryndís Björgvinsdóttir