Funeral for a Glacier

Funeral for a Glacier

by D.M. Tomkins

A letter to the future

Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier.

In the Next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path.

This monument is to acknowledge that we know

what is happening and what needs to be done.

Only you will know if we did it.

Ágúst 2019 415ppm CO2

-Plaque at the site of the former glacier Okjokull

They held a funeral for a glacier

And hundreds came to pay respects

I made the casket from plastic

I dug the grave and let it bury others

They cried out

And I kept my eyes lowered

Overcast

Ignorance for peace of mind

I deserved peace in my time

200 years seems like a long time

to know if we did what was needed.

By then the whole world may be on fire

everything melting

the heat breaking

the bonds of ice

The plaque was made after the glacier lost 80% (or more) of itself

If I lost 80% of myself I would be pronounced dead

So they pronounced it dead, because

That block of ice gave more life

Than me, or anyone, ever could

Jack Hatzfeld - Coastal Winds, 2019