IMOGENE’S NOTEBOOK
A Child of Antarctica
A poem
A mother’s love is
Unique and ineffable
Incessant and consuming
You are the embodiment of Mother Nature
Oxygen saturated air and water
Adaptive and abundant life on land and in the ocean
Harsh conditions teach survival and resilience
Your children, plants, animals, and birds
Survive by respecting the richness and abundance
We feast on the bounty of life
Provided one takes only what is needed and no more
How long we sustain in this version of Earth
Depends on humankind's ability not to interfere in your plan
As we did during the whaling and sealing period
Pristine mountains and unpolluted beaches
So far from the industrialized world
Unfathomable beauty
You speak through your silence
Standing before you
I am a newborn
Seeing you for the first time
Learning your ways
The birds’ songs carry the echo of grandmothers
Your icy waters embrace me
Head below the surface
Part of the ocean life
Protective big sister of your abundant life
Wistfully think about life with the penguins and seals
Wake to your sunrises full of indigo and burnt orange
Dream under the swirls within the Milky Way
Alas, I am grown and with my own family
And living far from you
In a place full of light pollution and adulterating noise
Memory of my time with you
Cloaks me in hope and tranquility
Like a child snuggles a favorite blanket
Silence reminds me of your life-giving force
Willingly witness of your grandeur
Devoted in my love for you
