The h2g2 Poem
Created | Updated Jul 15, 2004
Arctic/Antarctic
The coastal line is hidden
underneath a heavy layer of snow
obliterating all landmarks
into a smooth nothingness
Desolate
Lifeless
Painted white by the snow
only the sharpest of cliff formations
break the evenness
casting long blue shadows
across the plains
The same polar wind
that has set the snow adrift
in ever wandering waves
has also swept clear
the frozen floor of the ocean
revealing the dull dark blueness
of solid ice over deep sea
The intensely deep blue sky
pales into the distance
where it blends with the haze
of sun reflected upon snow
hurting your eyes
as you strive to see the horizon
Is it the North Pole?
Is it the Antarctic?
No.
It is high up in the air
above the North Sea
above the clouds
the view as seen from an aircraft
on its way to London
But for a moment
it could have been an arctic landscape
Could it not?
Was it not?
And while you ponder
an icebear wanders by
unnoticed
unreal
and the landscape regains its stillness
