The Wanderer by Amin Olson

The Wanderer by Amin Olson (15) In wanderingQuivering men may kneelAn outside landscapeShivers as Aurora Borealis delivers a shattering blow An arctic punishment Certain people may know,The quivering menThe shivering menMen who have danced with deepest fear—And his waltz is a sight to see—Know Aurora Borealis And in the ice which kills indiscriminatelyA wandererFaces an outside landscapeIn the same way a big-game hunter widens his stance andGrits his teethWhen the Bear…Turns…                                   around A natural reversalNaturally,The wanderer continues on his aching, plodding pathImpeded only by constant flurries of glacial driftsFreezing feetArmsMind overrun by snowflake dreamsAurora Borealis is adorning theEndlessDarkness interrupted by fusionAbove     He goes in the nude—The savage, biting, howling breath ofAurora Borealis cripples him anyway—Exasperation exacerbated his only maskHavingLongSince dropped all the others he owned into powder snow A sort of lethargyAssociated with the coldStumbles by an ice fishing hole decorated with a polar bear nuzzling in red—very tasteful—It raises its head and nods to the multicolored heavensThere is no reply, no matterAnd follows a quivering man into his secure refugeAn insulated tent with an insulated sleeping bagStanding over this shivering manA sort of          lethargy Hours later, the new day is heraldedBy an exquisite and excessive lack of sensory informationAssociated with the cold He followed a breadcrumb trailInward curiosity a deep-seated irritationTrudging towards his own very personal light in the darkness—Aurora Borealis glistening, shimmering, igniting overheadThe Wanderer dropped into powder snow