Issue Two - October 2001

In My Fiftieth Year

By White Bear Woman

life begins calving
like the glacier calves.
Huge chunks breaking free and
giving in to saltwater,
making unexpected waves,
melting slowly.
Kayakers and those in small boats,
vulnerable to unpredictability,
are warned to keep their distance.

I am at once all that is still frozen
and everything that has been set free,
and there is no longer any part of me
that wishes it were otherwise.

©2001 White Bear Woman