deepundergroundpoetry.com
a vital moment
the vital moment
The great Greenland explorer, a giant of
a man his plane had landed, he was walking up the steps to the restaurant, and the press waited
Carrying his own bag and he was ninety-five
At the top of the steps, he stopped, paused, and collapsed, died.
The man had had a great life, but the pause
at the steps bothers me, did he, in a flash
see his own life, whether he had been a fraud
or let the people he loved down; did he recall
the moments when he failed them and himself?
Full of fear, fighting his instinct to run away?
The great Greenland explorer, a giant of
a man his plane had landed, he was walking up the steps to the restaurant, and the press waited
Carrying his own bag and he was ninety-five
At the top of the steps, he stopped, paused, and collapsed, died.
The man had had a great life, but the pause
at the steps bothers me, did he, in a flash
see his own life, whether he had been a fraud
or let the people he loved down; did he recall
the moments when he failed them and himself?
Full of fear, fighting his instinct to run away?
Published 12th Jan 2024
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At first it sounded like you are writing about Peary, whose trumpeted claim at reaching the North Pole is now not without suspicion of fraud, and who (already married) took an Inuit woman as his mistress while he was out there. However Peary didn't live to 95 (although his widow lived to 92).
