Robin Anna Smith
Writer’s commentary: Calving occurs when a mass of ice breaks off a glacier or iceberg. It is instigated by factors such as rising temperatures, winds, and changing currents, which stress the integrity of the structure. This process contributes to rising sea levels, causing coastal flooding and damage to ecosystems. When we become stressed, mentally or physically, we often ignore our bodies’ messages to slow down. Instead, we plod on. For some, this is because of lack of self-awareness or self-doubt. Other influences may be our society’s association of worth with productivity, lack of resources, or pressure to validate ourselves. Sometimes, we ignore these signs for so long that when we do finally acknowledge them, we’re beyond the help of others and unable to help ourselves.
calving
carefree. I glide in the ocean. cool, soothing, cradling. wrapped in gentle rocking. allure of the sun. blooming on the horizon. I swim farther out. cold grabs at my foot. the undertow’s tentacles pull me. down…
icebergs
keeping myself
buoyant
its grasp firms. I flail. chop escalating. I should call out. a plea for help. SOS. I exhale and fill my lungs. with brine…
drop by drop
I become
the ocean
About the writer:
Robin Anna Smith is an emerging disabled writer and visual artist residing in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a regular contributor at Rhythm & Bones Lit. Her work appears in a variety of international online and print journals as well as Unsealing Our Secrets: A Short Poem Anthology About Sexual Abuse. She has work forthcoming in Blithe Spirit, The Cicada’s Cry, and The Haiku Foundation’s Per Diem. She placed second in Sonic Boom’s 2018 Annual Senryu Contest and received an Honorable Mention in the 2018 Marlene Mountain Memorial Haiku Contest. More of her writing can be found at her website: robinannasmith.com and @robinannasmith on Twitter.
Image: The Icebergs by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900). Oil on canvas. 64.5 x 112.5 inches. 1861. Public domain.
