March 2021
Bio Note: This poem was written some years ago, when the husband of a dear friend of mine
passed away. I had been recently widowed as well, and somehow felt I could grant myself the privilege of
speaking in her voice. I based the poem on the images I remembered after visiting the Eisriesenwelt ice cave,
which is located not far from Salzburg, Austria.
Message from the Ice Cave
Received from a friend, newly widowed
I am living here now, where the cold
is my consort, the lover I clasp
with my arms and legs, from whose gray
blanket I tear each breath.
All around me ice is in bloom—
tiny glass buds keep swelling
from hairline fissures
in the stone. The buried river
cuts close, a dark ventricle
thick with sorrow. Moisture floods
my face, pools at my feet.
In time, a tower of ice
will grow around me, taking
the shape of an old woman
and visitors will say, Look at her,
how she weeps into her hands.
©2021 Marilyn Taylor
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