Here Is What You Must Do
By Robert Frazier
First study weather then the outworld races
win the anthropology chair but refuse
ship out to the snow planet of Altair 4
when the expedition drives north you go
when the storm wall looms you dig not run
after you claw your way to the surface
the winds still howl the snows blow you wait
she will pass then return with a covered sled
she will tend you in her igloo with thick stews
when you emerge from the heat of delirium
you will find you did not study her dialect
and she cannot fathom a syllable of yours
yet the next word she utters you must
learn as her name and cherish
with heart until your end of days
