Melanie Hyo-In Han (October 2024)

Born in Korea and raised in East Africa, Melanie Hyo-In Han recently moved from the U.S. to the U.K., where she is a Ph.D. candidate in Creative Writing. She is the author of My Dear Yeast (Milk & Cake Press, 2023) and Sandpaper Tongue, Parchment Lips (Finishing Line Press, 2021), as well as the translator of several collections of Spanish poetry (Hebel Ediciones). Han has received fellowships from Sundress Academy and Banff Centre and is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Flora Fiction and Two Languages Prize Editor at Gasher Press. Learn more about her at melaniehan.com

Banff

At this national park where the mountains meet the sky and the lakes reflect eternity, nature unfurls its canvas with a palette of wild and vivid colors – turquoise waters weave between ancient pines and snow-capped peaks rise like cathedrals with their spires piercing passerby white clouds. Here, even the passage of a day is a painting. The sunrise bathes the landscape with hues of rose and twirling gold then when night falls, the sky transforms into a tapestry for the Milky Way, a river of light in the darkness. 

Listen to the lakes –
they sing and mountains whisper
the beauty of Banff

Johnston Canyon

Towering limestone cliffs, plunging waterfalls, emerald pools – this natural wonder offers glimpses of the creek as it cascades over ancient rock formations. Wooden bridges cling to the canyon walls, guiding people deeper towards the Ink Pots. The sound of rushing water fills the air, a constant companion through narrow gorges. Mist catches the light in a shimmering dance, painting rainbows in the sunlight.

Witness the water
roaring louder than thunder
plunging down, down, down

Queen’s Cup

The elegant white flowers blossom, emerging like tiny crowns among the emerald green of the undergrowth in the shadowy areas of the forest. Blooming in clusters, their white petals form perfect stars. They stand on slender stalks, surrounded by broad, lush leaves that cradle the blossoms as if presenting them to the world. In the company of ferns and mosses where the air is thick with the scent of earth, these flowers gleam against the shadowed forest floor.

Modest yet regal,
they flourish in the forest
unexpectedly

Zenith

At the zenith of the Rockies, the first light brushes the mountaintops with golden hues and awakens Banff from its slumber. The shores of the Vermilion Lakes begin to glow as the light moves from them to Sacred Buffalo Guardian Mountain. The animals stir and begin their search for food while birds soar above the trees, their cries echoing across the valleys. By the end of the day, the sky ignites in a blaze of colors that reflect off of the mirrored waters of Lake Minnewanka. Time comes to a standstill – here, we are at the zenith of natural wonder.

This is not a place
to visit just once or twice –
it is the endpoint

All poems exclusive first publication by East Ridge Review