Song of the Lonely Iceberg
Diamond Bar, CA
2023, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Climate Hero: In honor of the artists and scientists turning iceberg sounds into music: Martin Sharp, Grant Deane, Mia Feuer, Jana Winderen, Philip Samartzis, Thomas Köner, Eliza Bozek, and Susan Schuppli
Because it’s our nature to ignore good advice
To feel helpless when confronted with the world’s vice
A group of scientists and musicians decided to turn our melting glaciers into art
Don’t you think this idea is smart?
Although this music sounds like magic
This art is also, to me, quite tragic
For in their voices of melting ice
Is contained the message of all the world’s vice
It’s man who is causing this tragic melt
We fail to consider how the icebergs felt
We forgot polar bears need ice to feed
How can we deny them this primal need?
When confronted with mass faceless tragedy, we become numb
Which is why we need to tell the story of one
One heroic iceberg singing its death in the sea
Although it never committed a crime against you and me
In Antarctica, there are icebergs that are a million years old
That were here before the dinosaurs and marigolds
Even though we humans have been here for only a blink of the eye We’ve managed to make beautiful and ancient things die
So the next time you think you just have to buy that thing
Remember the lonely iceberg as it sings
Reflection
Reflection
When I read the New York Times article, “The Poignant Music of Melting Ice: Have a Listen,” I was struck by the melancholic music of melting ice. I love that these scientists and musicians used art to lure me into caring about the perishing icebergs because usually inundating people with calamitous news only results in psychic numbing. I was so inspired by their music, I wrote “Song of the Lonely Iceberg,” which wasn’t easy for me as I kept wandering off the trail. However, I finally climbed my way up a rocky cliff with my bare fingernails full of dirt and determination to craft a poem of which I’m proud. As I am not a natural performer (my little sister is), I am proud that I worked on my weaknesses to make this a spoken word performance. From working on my poem, I have learned the power of art to transform even the most reluctant of performers!