Thaw

I stand on starkness stretching beyond me
At the horizon stands a wall of white
Light is lashing out but I try to see
It glares around, above, below, so bright

I place my hand to shield my eyes to scan
My heartbeat tells of goring and of fear
Find red on snow to tell me where it ran
I hear a moan and know the horns are near

I shout and point my spear at the boulder
carried by the frost giant long ago
For campfire tales by the ones much older
they have the wall receding through the snow

Then bounds from behind the rock the horned one
I know it comes to take my entrails out
bears down on me with massive head, I'm done
it falters then and falls in final rout

So we attach the ropes to carcass, pull
All cheer for days of meat at the campground
The stone knives cut to take its skin and wool
The smaller horn, the greater, both astound

First glutton days, then we again set forth
For hunting prey was rare now in this thaw
The great wall of ice walked forever north
This beast, this kind, the last one that we saw