Mallory's Ghost

They found human remains
On the thawing mountain as it
Gurgled trickles of memories,
A man's body at that height,
A near-god surely, so close
To the white-bearded summit;
Who is this flattened corpse,
Preserved in its frozen sweat?

Tweeds, how twee, woollen
Socks, how sensible, an
Alpine hat, with a feather in it!

Hobnail boots, how manly,
A backpack, no porters
Needed!

Who is it?

A name for God's sake!

The jacket, how very English
Public school, a name inside
The collar, the stiff collar,
The name of 'George Mallory'.

So the haunting question is,
Was he going up or
Coming down his beloved
Everest?










Poetry by Christopher Fernie The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 541 times
Written on 2017-08-21 at 22:49

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one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
English pluck, no luck
but what . . . courage
2017-08-22



Interesting. Well done.
2017-08-22



That's a great story, Chris, told with suspense and knowledge of the craft. Well done!
Ashe
2017-08-22


Kathy Lockhart
I really enjoyed this Chris. I love the form, the language, and especially the subject matter. What an adventurer he was. I want to believe that he reached the summit and was on his way down. I'll just cling to that. :) kathy
2017-08-22