A new poem by Ōtepoti poet Jasmine O M Taylor.

a retreat

if you find a chance before they’ve all melted into the air
find time to get on a glacier
and find a cave in the glacier
and go inside the cave inside the glacier
it will speak to you in its own language
and it will speak to you in the language of water
the languages of water and rock have been creating
for millennia
whether or not anything else existed to listen
human ears weren’t intended to hear this
but we can gift ourselves moments of listening in
affirming sighs and sharp groans are a story
know this blessed cool womb could shatter at any moment
look up to witness the blue curves and dimples and drips
this pocket shows the birthplace of a pebble
scoop a palmful of the melt river cutting down down
deep into the heart of the mountain
taste it and taste everything we’ve lost in time
it is the most refreshing water on the planet
savour it because it is lost a little more every day
and after you’ve savoured it and swallowed the best water
in existence place your cooled wet palm against your nape
look up at the névé through the mouth of the cave
thank it for its gift
look to the left and right toward the moraines
know that you’ll never achieve anything so profound
and thank them for their wisdom
and as you exit the cave of ice
and as you depart the surface of the glacier
and as you hike out to the river at the edge of the forest
say a thank you inside every breath
a thank you every step
thank you
thank you

The Friday Poem is edited by Chris Tse. Submissions are currently closed.