Quinuituq

by Mandy Haggith

The rhythm of the arctic:
    long stillnesses
    broken by sudden movement.

The deep patience of an Inuit hunter
at a fishing hole;
his catch.

The glacier at the head of Svitjodbreen’s
    photo-perfect calmness;
    its calving wave-storm.

At Ny Ålesund,
    after lying dormant for a week offshore,
    purses frenzy at the butikken.