Emperors of the Artic
Slowly and stately
they shuffle along the ice
Oblivious and orderly
they move from the sea into the frozen wilderness
Moving with uncanny precision
along the widest king's highway on earth
None to impede their path
as the cycle of permanent darkness descends
No polar bear anywhere,
they have all trundled off to hibernate
No arctic fox to be found,
following the seals north they migrate
All the predators are gone,
and the giant penguins now moves alone
in their frozen kingdom of solitude
None to threaten them near or far
Emperors of the arctic they are
Three months of desolation rule,
as they slowly proceed apace with quiet grace ...
a bit deeper into their frozen fortress of solitude
Emperors of the arctic domain,
they alone now rule
Undeterred by the howling wrath
of gale force winds
Or the sub-zero cold from the temperature
rapidly dropping
They have no fear of the arctic's biting breath,
they are impervious to the threat of a numbing death
Emperor penguin kings possessing no fear
In the land of frozen death,
perpetuating life is why they are now here
Each penguin male marches slowly in a straight line,
carrying precious cargo atop his webbed feet,
an unhatched egg that must have continual heat ...
it can never touch the frozen ground
Once they reach their chosen birthing place,
a good distance from the sea,
the giant penguins form two concentric circles:
a circle within a circle
The purpose of this is magnificent;
as the outer circle endures the cold and wind,
the inner circle gathers all the heat within
Then imperceptibly ... a silent signal is sent out,
and with breathtaking synchronicity
they all trade places
The outer circle moves within,
and the inner circle moves without ...
in the changing of position, not one egg gets dropped
For three months, this rotating is periodically done,
during this time of incubation
It is one of the greatest spectacle of nature to behold,
one giant circle moving in, another giant circle moving out
Shifting constantly against the fierce arctic wind,
always in the perpetual darkness of night ---
in which there is never any sunlight
And again, a silent call is sent out,
signaling it is time for the incubation to end,
and all of the eggs hatches at once
Thus, the short arduous march begins;
back towards brim of the sea, and the excited chirping
of the females and young penguins
Exhausted, the males return to their mates,
not having eaten for nearly three months
But, the birthing job is complete
Truly a miracle of nature,
amazing how the timing is impeccable
These giant penguin kings leave me in awe,
with mouth ajar
Emperors of the arctic they truly are
Copyright © Freddie Robinson Jr. | Year Posted 2017
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