Ice Cracking

Spring is finally here
The winter past was brutal
On my daily runs through it
Ice sickle daggers ran through me
Chilling to the marrow
Sharp shards coursing through the slush within my veins
But the light of a longer day is penetrating
And slowly, the heat from that light radiates

The frozen river looks peaceful
A winter wonderland
It might even make a Currier and Ives scene to be envied by those who pass by
Or at least a pleasant postcard image
Nothing moves
There is a solidness
You can walk on it and feel secure, though cold
Deep below, pressed hard between the bottom of the ice and the bed of the river
A small amount of liquid moves
The fish cling to life in this narrow zone
It’s no way for even a fish to live

The day is sunny, but still very cold
And still very still
BANG!
CRACK!
Look around! What is THAT?
Nothing moves
What a violent sound accompanied by stillness
The sound and the scene don’t go together
CRACK!
Oh my!

The glacier looked massive and solid
Completely unassailable
Unchanged for countless centuries
But a massive piece of the edge, big as a mountain
Suddenly calves off and falls in slow motion toward the sea below
We watch from what seemed like a safe distance
But the impact on the calm sea is enormous
The traumatized water flies in a wall high into the air
Drops spray and fall all around
The tsunami wave heads out in all directions from the impact zone
Our boat braces for the secondary impact
Will we be able to ride it out?
Our world is rocking
A wet wall washes over our decks
Banging everything against everything else
Cargo we had tied down tightly washes overboard
We may capsize
We could be pushed to the bottom

CRACK! BANG!
A chunk of the glacier around my heart breaks and falls off
BOOM!
The same sun does it’s work and a piece explodes off of yours

The lovely scene isn’t so pretty anymore
The floes in the river bang into each other with violence
The jagged slabs collide and pile up all over each other
making the surface look like the aftermath of war
But movement has finally started
The river begins to flow once again
It will be imperceptible for some time
But summer will surely come
The jagged surface will transform
Into a far more beautiful spectacle
The smooth, azure surface of the calm deep of the river
Will flow in unified grace
And satisfy the parched soil of the banks
Nourishing the tender sprouts of new growth

Hang on, my love
Hang on, my friend
Hang on, myself
None can fight this giant wave
Hold your breath
Until it passes over us
Keep the faith
On the backside of the wave
There will be calmness again
If we survive
And the radiance will continue to warm our bones