An Arctic Ballad
Beijing, China
2024, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
With winter’s breath, a somber hymn unfolds,
Where once the ice held stories, now untold.
Beneath the weight of climate change’s hand,
A melting chorus sings across the land.
Gone are the days of frozen lullabies,
Replaced by mournful echoes–lonely cries.
The sun, a witness to this changing song,
A requiem for glaciers, silent, strong.
Each drop, a tear amidst the warming breeze,
Laments for polar realms, now ill at ease.
The creaking, cracking, marks a dirge profound,
As icy kingdoms crumble to the ground.
A melting sonnet, sung in minor key,
A reflection of a world that used to be.
The ice just like a fading memory,
Now drifts away in warming symphonies.
With every drip, a forlorn line is born,
A liquid elegy, a planet worn
By cold indifference still fraught with pain,
A melancholy melody, all that remains.
But such a sorrowful song is not yet done,
A final hopeful verse must still be sung,
Sprung from every heart–on every tongue–
A song redeeming past mistakes,
Disavowing our dire fate,
Knowing that it’s not to late:
For we shall all together state:
Man and nature: “we are one.”
Reflection
I decided to write this piece on the melting of the icebergs because it combines my personal passions for music and animals. I compare the melting of the polar ice caps to a tearful song, since music can so powerfully affect our emotions. The melting ice caps have caused animals like polar bears and foxes to lose their home and even their lives. The World Wildlife Foundation estimates that by 2050 polar bear populations may decrease up to thirty percent if we do not “urgently tackle climate change.” And with warming temperatures in the Arctic, arctic foxes are coming into contact with Red Foxes more than ever–which are twice their size–and often losing the battle for territory and resources. By writing this piece, I hope to raise awareness about the environmental challenges we face and inspire people to take action. By writing about these challenges that arctic animals face, I intend to encourage readers to do as much as they possibly can to reduce their carbon footprint and the greenhouse gasses they are releasing into the air.