• On weakening ice, my feet do tread,
    My enervated muscles carrying me forth
    To places some esteem, while some others dread:
    The unforgiving terrain of the raw, bitter north.
    The blizzards are fierce, the cold no less cruel.
    'Tis a wonder how many survive a night,
    Where grizzly bear and arctic wolf rule
    And own the land that is their right.
    I took a path worn by vernal heat,
    Pacing along a near-thawed lake.
    What dangers await the bareness that is my feet,
    As I gallantly put my life at stake?
    My leg strength wanes, and my heart rate is low.
    I've put all my faith into the ice below.