
A glacier is drawn
By Paula Sankelo
Illustration by Elizabeth Bourne
I.
A glacier is drawn
into wakefulness
a cat from slumber:
elastic against the warm rock
she flattens her midriff
stretches her paws further out
to the sea.
From her breast, a rumble is heard.
II.
A glacier is drawn like a bow.
Released
ten thousand winters
discharge
in the churning water
next to a fresh-cut, turquoise slab
a young walrus blows an explosive breath.
III.
A glacier is drawn
like a shabby stage curtain
across the fjord. When it drops
a play starts, where we
dance unless we drown.
IV.
A glacier is drawn
on canvas, displayed
with wonder: such towering blessings
we had.
Paula Sankelo lives in Longyearbyen. An environmental researcher by profession, she currently works as an editor in a Finnish culture journal Elonkehä, and as a receptionist in Svalbard museum. She published her first poetry collection in August 2024 (Warelia, Finland). The poems published here are selected from this collection and translated by the author.
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