LONG YEAR BEGIN

in time, everything 

on earth, from dirt to metal,

melts into the air

four months since the sun

last escaped these frozen skies

now it’s here to stay

oh, long year city

you’ve fought hard against the night

just a few more days

there’s a special place:

where we can visit secrets,

pay our dues, and leave.

“the sun’s back,” she sighs,

“but people seem to find that

they’re still unhappy.”

i am a seed vault

i keep seeds very safe, but

i can’t save people

first house off the fjord

this occupant is lucky

first sunrise in months

ask these men their age,

or what fuels their conviction, 

or how cold they are

the local airport

doesn’t bother with checkpoints

they have the bear force

behold, the ice floe:

proud, yet in final retreat 

before spring-time thaw

on his right, the last

of the arctic. to the left,

a colder future

you can find places

where beams of light can travel

uninterrupted

back to the arctic

in three weeks. our director

is clearly jazzed up

they started something

now they are going back home

to make sense of it