Poetry Sunday: Exit Glacier by Peggy Shumaker

Peggy Shumaker is a poet from Alaska. In her poem, "Exit Glacier," she describes the sound and the sight of a glacier breaking up, something that Alaskans might be familiar with, and something that is happening more often in our warming world. She tells us of:
"...history, the record
of breaking—

"prophecy, the warning
of what's yet to break..."


Exit Glacier

by Peggy Shumaker

When we got close enough
we could hear

rivers inside the ice
heaving splits

the groaning of a ledge
about to

calve. Strewn in the moraine
fresh moose sign—

tawny oblong pellets
breaking up

sharp black shale. In one breath
ice and air—

history, the record
of breaking—

prophecy, the warning
of what's yet to break

out from under
four stories

of bone-crushing turquoise
retreating.

Comments

  1. Judy KruegerDecember 2, 2018 at 10:39 AM

    Good choice this week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. CarmenDecember 2, 2018 at 1:27 PM

    Powerful image that last stanza! They are experiencing the global warming effects closer than most of us, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  3. CaroleDecember 2, 2018 at 2:23 PM

    Enjoyed this one! Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  4. AlanaDecember 3, 2018 at 5:17 PM

    I remember the sound of ice breakup on our local rivers where I live in upstate New York, but that hasn't happened for years (one side effect of global warming) It's an amazing thing to see the huge chunks of ice after, and how far they can be flung. So a glacier breakup must be spectacular - sad, but spectacular. I saw Alaskan glaciers in 1988 on a cruise and I so remember that beautiful turquoise color, too. Enjoyed this poem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersDecember 3, 2018 at 6:23 PM

      I have never witnessed this but it must be an amazing and unforgettable thing to see.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
Read more

The Investigator by John Sandford: A review

Image
  I have read a few of John Sandford's books in the Prey series featuring Lucas Davenport. This book is a literal offspring of that series. It's the first in a series featuring Davenport's adopted daughter Letty Davenport. Letty is in her mid-20s and a graduate of Stanford. She works for a U.S. senator named Christopher Colles in a desk job but she's bored with her assignments. Then the senator offers her a chance to go into the field as a liaison between his office and the Department of Homeland Security.  In her first assignment in that position, she is sent to Texas along with DHS investigator John Kaiser to try to find out what is happening in regard to thefts of crude oil. The senator is not so concerned about the lost oil but wants to know where the money from its sale is going. Who is selling the oil and what they are doing with the profits? The suspicion is that a particularly nasty militia group led by a woman is involved. Letty and Kaiser head out to Texas, de...
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
Read more