Our Poetry Friday today is Keri at Keri Recommends. Stop by for lots of poetry-riffic posts.
I'm dipping back into explorers a bit this week, so I thought I'd share a poem from Elizabeth Bradfield's wonderful book, Approaching Ice, published in 2010 by Persea Books. This is one of my favorites.
Why They Went
by Elizabeth Bradfield
that men might learn what the world is like at the spot where the
sun does not decline in the heavens.
—Apsley Cherry-Garrard
—Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Frost bitten. Snow blind. Hungry. Craving
fresh pie and hot toddies, a whole roasted
unflippered thing to carve. Craving a bed
that had, an hour before entering,
been warmed with a stone from the hearth.
Always back to Eden—to the time when we knew
with certainty that something watched and loved us.
That the very air was miraculous and ours.
That all we had to do was show up.
The sun rolled along the horizon. The light never left them.
The air from their warm mouths became diamonds.
And they longed for everything they did not have.
And they came home and longed again.
Read more of Bradfield's poems here.
Always back to Eden—to the time when we knew
ReplyDeletewith certainty that something watched and loved us.
That the very air was miraculous and ours.
That all we had to do was show up.
Just love this stanza, Dori. We long for this certainty, and it's so elusive.
It is beautiful with longing, isn't it?
DeleteTara stole my favorite stanza too, but really all is starkly honest isn't it, Dori. I'll note the book, love adventure tales, & in poetry-wonderful. Nice to see you back & sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. I've been really spotty in my posting the last few months. Hopefully I'll be doing better in the new year!
DeleteInteresting poem, Dori. These lines strike me:
ReplyDelete" And they longed for everything they did not have.
And they came home and longed again."
That last line is eloquent in its truth. We come from a place of longing back to the place we longed for, only to find we still aren't satisfied. It's not only explorers who feel this way.
Violet N.
If you read many of the accounts of the polar explorers, you find this incredible drive to go farther, reach deeper, claim more than seems humanly possible. They were remarkable.
DeleteGreat poem, Dori! I like the lines that people have already mentioned, and I was also struck by wanting an "unflippered thing to carve" and that "the air from their warm mouths became diamonds." It's just so vivid and present.
ReplyDeleteI love that image of their warm breath becoming diamonds. Makes me stop each time I read it and marvel that she captured that image so vibrantly.
DeleteThanks for sharing this poem, Doraine.
ReplyDelete"And they longed for everything they did not have.
And they came home and longed again." Wow.
Thanks for stopping by, Bridget. Bradfield's work is so vivid. So glad you liked it.
DeleteInteresting to come to this poem after Lori Ann's iceberg poem!
ReplyDeleteYes. I suspect all those explorers wished for a warm mug between their hands.
DeleteThat is uncanny, Doraine! What a beautiful poem that engages and lifts me...my favorite:
ReplyDeleteAlways back to Eden—to the time when we knew
with certainty that something watched and loved us.
I love this poem and collection, too. So inspiring.
ReplyDelete