Antarctica by Matikas Santos

They found gold in Antarctica
and everybody is going to get some for themselves.
I joined the search and went
to a land where there is neither night nor day.

Barely able to move within winter's clenched fist
and embraced by the long, cold arms of the wind,
my eyes beheld a sight that shook me.
A hundred thousand people digging, shoveling, scavenging for gold.

I held the torch I brought from home closer to my body
"Fend off the crawling darkness and pry me from winter's grasp!" I prayed.
Then, scattered and half-buried in the snow, I saw
cold embers and broken torches of those who came before me.

"Why did you throw away your torch?" I asked.
"You can dig faster if both hands are free." they replied.
"What about the cold and the darkness?"
"Your skin will grow thick and you learn to feel with your hands in the dark."

I step back and look at the vast expanse
people digging, blind and numb, in the cold and dark.
For gold so precious and so rare
is easily found here in a world so dry.

My flame flickers as it is drowned by the wind
I bring it to my chest, shield it with my arms, and look into its kindled depths
"I wont let go or throw you away, so keep me warm and give me light,
for I don't want to be blind and numb in Antarctica."


This work by Matikas Santos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Philippines License.