The world is ice Gray and blue and white It surrounds me with its purity Its quiet danger Somewhere below me water flows Carving caves into the glacier Inexorable, steady I dig my crampon into the ice I pause, prying out one axe Only to bury it deeply again My arms have tired of the motion Swing and pull and swing I try not to look below me Into the treacherous depths But above is not better The feet stretch into miles I am not sure I have risen at all Somewhere above me people call encouragement A guide belays me, indefatigable But all of that has faded It is me and the ice I am certain that if I do not climb I will fall The only thing between me and the abyss Is my own tenacity Axes and crampons crunch into the ice It’s an endless rhythm Primal, raw Like the panic that fills my veins But somehow I prevail Pull myself over the ledge Lie panting on the ice There is so much of it An ocean of pale blue But I have conquered it Or it has conquered me Either way I squint at the sun in triumph