A Changing Landscape
QVV's May Spring Poetry Challenge
![](https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/d_642250b563292b35f27461a7.png,f_jpg,fl_progressive,q_auto,w_1024/66520a17f0f5b6001e9ab1f2.jpg)
I slosh between slush that coats everything between here and there.
Dust settles in waves of multitudes between the rainy haze that peppers the ocean ice,
Cracks are forming,
The ocean glazing over,
water, then ice, then water,
Reflecting a sky,
A constant mirror to the tide that ever so fluidly shifts thick layers,
Back and forth,
High tide, low tide.
You can smell the taste of thaw,
The debris carried over from here and there,
Wildlife returning, resurfacing,
Cod spawning at deep ocean cracks, trout and char gliding across endless lakes.
Everything has transformed from shades of white to layers of brown and grey,
The endless blue sky stretching picture frame,
Capturing all the abundance of life blooming after a frigid winter.
You could taste the spring on your tongue,
The rare humidity seeping into skin that's tanning from never-ending sun.
Even we are changing,
Drifting out toward the open land in search of relief and thaw from the isolating winter storms.
You can see the sun beam through in the smiles of people,
And the wind skirting between legs, ushering everyone outside into all this life.
The snowbirds' tune is my favorite song.
~
![](https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/d_642250b563292b35f27461a7.png,f_jpg,q_auto,w_720/665208a52e4af9001dd78c52.jpg)
This challenge was harder than I thought! I don’t even know where or how to start with the Spring here in the Arctic, it’s so multifaceted.
Check out Queer Vocal Voices’ May challenge below. It’s open to anyone and everyone. Deadline to submit it soon!
And if you’re part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and are looking for a safe space to meet other queer writers and readers, join our Facebook group:
About the Creator
Oneg In The Arctic
A storyteller and poet of arctic adventures, good food, identity, mental health, and more.
Co-founder of Queer Vocal Voices
Some other rad writers to check out:
James ❄️ TheDaniWriter ❄️ Melissa
RiverJoy ❄️ J. Delaney-Howe ❄️
Water is Life ✊
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Comments (7)
Thank you for sharing how spring is like in the arctic. I was always curious. I love how you support the Pride community as well. You even made a vocal Facebook for Pride community. You are a true leader.
Brilliant description on thaw in the Artic!!! 💕❤️❤️ While it's been at least 36 years, I still remember May! In the Fairbanks, AK, people referred to it as Break up!
Great words and wonderful pictures
This was so beautifully written and that photo is gorgeous!
"You could taste the spring on your tongue" loved this!
What a lovely one related to spring!
This is lovely and really paints a picture of what Spring is like there.