and something else 

which once seemed immortal

is gone 

that which shone cold

through a few thousand years

of heat and sun and humanity

has finally fallen to our folly

to our useless war on the world

St. Mary’s Glacier has melted

the first of most others

to fade into faint streams

to be used in car wash hoses

and taken by polluted rivers

winding through concrete

to far off states

never to be seen again

it is such a quiet death

but we will all scream in time

there was once snow

which we never thought

could melt

some parts of the mountains

that were always meant

to be hidden from view

but now all is bare and granite

and St. Mary’s Glacier is gone

when we are older

and we tell stories

of snow which stayed

no matter the heat and dryness

we will seem like liars

because nothing will survive those

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an award-winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more information about him at alexandershalomjoseph.com.