Poetry and Visuals from Vistas of the West

Edited and Curated by Larry Kapustka, Lorene Shyba, and Susan Kristoferson

Intaglio print: Eveline Kolijn; Calligraphy: Thea-Lynn Paul

THE GLACIER

Philip Lister

Low down it was gravel and grey
Then dusted with brown as we rose
As snow fluffed the gully
As we climbed with the sun
In our course. Up, always up
Thick slush till you reached
In a mile or two, a hard clear
Gin on the rock, ice
Pebbled, it rolled ahead
In steps climbing out of sight
That’s where we saw the crevasse
Yawning in front.

Delicate coloured turquoise sides
Narrowing to a black
Measureless depth
Who knew if a cold pure stream
Ran down there
Or how deep it was
Or how cold.

As I stood at the edge
Looking down and wondering
It just grinned. Open. Waiting.
I made an end run
Around it to where the way was firm
And pushed on up, always up
A rumble of snow cascaded and fell
In a rush then a spray
Off the black canyon wall.
Keep on moving.

If I’d stayed still or stopped
There’d have been time
To get cold on the glacier
To feel its chilled breath
To wonder how deep
That crevasse.

Photograph: John Heerema

Painting: Helena Hadala; Calligraphy: Thea-Lynn Paul

THE NIGHTMARE

Nancy Bell

The Nightmare gathers her herd about her
Swirling clouds of black and grey
The thunder of their hooves shaking the ground
Their raging breath bending the trees
With fistfuls of lightning bolts writhing in her hands
The Nightmare leads the charge from the northern skies
Tears of fury stripping leaves from trees
Now her anger solidifies and turns her heart to ice
Hail slashes across the prairie, the great white combine
Harvesting the farmer’s future and handing it to him
In a bucket full of holes and empty of hope
A blue-black fist punches a hole in the sky
The whirling dervish of the Nightmare’s displeasure
Dances over the barley, twisting the hollow grain bins
Like a spoiled child wreaking havoc
Her rage finally satisfied, she moves off toward the mountains
Where the storm demons cry as they bruise themselves
Against the distant rocks.

Painting: Steve Coffee