Drake Passage, Antarctic Circle, the threshold
of old age. Mysterious waters promising
what? Fantastical landscapes? Adventure?
Certainty? Sea ice doubles the size
of this continent in winter. Glaciers
make me feel young. Another
journey, the same restlessness, my parents
still birthing me years after they’re gone. Ice
melts. Water gives way. I’m always
almost there. And why do I fear
the cold and dark. Some primordial
impulse, as layered as moraine. Does it
matter? I stare it down. Only flinch
a little.

A. Hampford

 

A. Hampford is a writer, traveler, yogi, lover of nature and animals (especially dogs). Currently, she is working on a chapbook inspired by Antarctica and aging. She is based in Connecticut but is spending this year on the coast of Ecuador, enjoying life in another language.

© 2019