Sue Spiers
Ice Palace – Halley Bay
Aptenodytes forsteri
The days turn shorter.
I swim to the ice floe,
waddle and slide the miles
to the breeding ground
where I hatched.
I listen for his call;
high notes with a trill.
He bows to me, we neck,
sing to each other.
I turn my back, we mate.
The egg comes in low light
as storms grip anger,
temperatures dive.
I leave it with him,
head to sea and fill on fish.
He’s there in the harsh
waiting for my return,
a curd-fed hatchling
under his belly.
I huddle her to mine.
Our chick is grey fluff,
not yet streamlined
black and white for water.
The palace needs
three full moons more.
After two moons
the palace disappears
becomes sea.
There is nothing to do
but leave.
Sue Spiers’ poems are widely published in magazines and anthologies. Sue was longlisted in the National Poetry Competition 2023/4 and won a Hedgehog Press pamphlet competition with A Wallet of Creature Poems in 2024.