when I was someone else I wished I could stand with it in the shadow of Erebus and feel its ghost like cold
aim till south becomes north
when it was a river, the sun made sparks on the ripples
when it was the sky the propellers turned
clouds outside in
when it was rock and gravity bit hard
it pled to be climbed anyway
then it said "go" and it was engulfed in the noise of idling engines and television screams
aim till south becomes west
when it was red it blanketed mountains in twilight
when it was black it salted heaven with stars,
when it was yellow it spun like children sliding
the wind to the sand
when it was blue it was ice
that begged to be crossed anyway
when it drowned me in love it beat like the tide against my chest
watch the hurricane surge change the coast
when it was death it pressed until I couldn't see
when it was birth I saw what it could do
with bits of mud and bone
when it was mine it burned my hands to hold it
until it turned blue to ice
to a walk in Erebus' shadow
to me with it here now, and you there
because it had to be something
it's always something
New Harbor, Antarctica - November 2004