Baekrokdam by Michelle Park (15, Philippines)

It’s winter, 
                 before you’re layered in baby powder, 
                 yet to blend within. 
Inside that bowl 
                 covered in jagged rocks, 
                 you glow, a deep turquoise 
                 that’ll soothe me like 
                 a cup of chamomile tea. ​

---

There used to be splashes of green 
                 that faded into hues of red and yellow 
                 that accompanied you, 
                 but they’re all gone now. 
You were a little pool, 
                 of the finest water in Jeju, 
                 but slowly, 
                 you diminish, 
                 as if time has set a limit 
                 on your prosperity.
In a matter of a few days, 
                 you’ll be coated, 
                 all of the turquoise vanished, 
                 leaving you in glacier form. 
You’re atop the clouds, 
                                           now melding with it.

​