A new book, featuring some of these poems with their original inspiration images by photographer Dave Walsh is now available by clicking here.
Iceberg
Round Hall, now empty –
Echoing still, with proud boasts ~
Walls glow from within.
Dolphin
Lucky pair, untouched –
By our hands ~ delicious –
Frolic, salty, cold.
Wave
A splash –
Between your limbs –
Warmer than you.
Whale
A lone humpback whale –
Singing songs, that go unheard –
Bouncing, wall to wall.
Luna
Archean craton –
Its sister, shines high above –
The straight and the smooth.
Slush
The heat approaches –
Soon no ice will be left here –
Enjoy while you can.
Seabird
Our Tor, high and true-
Ice: our metamorphic rock –
‘The Black Republic’.
Giant
A sleeping giant –
Frozen in time, undisturbed –
Dreaming of warm Sun.
Bridge
An Ice Rialto –
No merchants, no canals here –
Pure wind, eye of God.
Pool
Ovaries and womb –
Centered with a melted child –
Reverse pregnancy.
Nanuk
Fibre optic hair –
Conceals my Arctic night skin –
Soon I will move South.
Ridge
Many fingered hand –
Squashes the ice, and drops it –
White, fresh cold mála.
River
A race with the sun –
To be ice-bound ox-bow lake –
Unseen, transient.
Passage
Ephemeral coasts –
Ice melting ~ we now keep pace –
With our satellites.
Tern
Maniraptoran –
High above the ice ~ supreme –
Little black-eyed god.
Fox
How now, my Brother?
Pray, never have occasion ~
to smell of my blood.
Walrus
Scourge of the bivalves –
and much else ~ the tusks reserved –
mainly for fighting.
Seal
Eyes atop my head –
Near submerged, checking for bears –
and photographers.
Buried
The warmer ice gets –
More and more stuff is revealed –
Like meteorites.
Bear
Midnight Polar Sun,
Endless light illuminates ~
White Bear’s shadowself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inspired by images of the Arctic and Antarctic taken by my friend Dave Walsh:
duncancleary 