Pinguinus Impennis by Kimiko Hahn

Pinguinus Impennis
Kimiko Hahn

Large, flightless, and defenseless,
the great auk was captured
for feathers for featherbeds—
hunters loosening the plumage in cauldrons
fueled with the oil
from the freshly killed auks before them.
After the 1830 volcanic eruption in Iceland, after
museums and collectors vied for the near
extinct “penguin of the North,”
in 1844, the last pair was beaten to their deaths
and their solitary egg dashed on the rocks of Eldey Island.
Could we not sleep on straw or goose down?
What dreams are worth such extinction?
And are they dreams I’d wish to own?

MARGINALIA

1.
Day 2 of The Sealey Challenge. Today’s offering is Toxic Flora: Poems by Kimiko Hahn.

2.
One of the things that I’m always fascinated by as both a reader and a poet is when a work manages to bridge the gap between the often intimidating realms of science and the emotionally charged landscape of poetry. This book is so arresting and I kept diving into it, rereading poems and just savouring the language inside my mouth.

3.
The poet is said to have drawn inspiration from the science section of the New York Times, and Kimiko Hahn starts her poems with facts about certain species—how they mate, how they kill. And then comes the shift, the turn that lets us arrive at deeply personal revelations.

4.
I love the weaving of everyday life with the mysteries of nature. There are themes of relationship dynamics and conflicting identities, where Hahn talks about being a mother and the space she occupies within the family. How do we keep true to ourselves while still honouring the different roles we play? Is it as simple as nature versus nurture?