'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

Go here to find out more.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Poem


Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary enjoy a cup of tea when they are unexpectedly visited by the third to reach the summit.

The Little-Known Fact of the Third to reach the Summit of Everest.

Everyone knows the storilly
Of brave Sherpa Tenzing
And laconic Edmund Hillary
And their remarkable ascending.

Many people remember
That Hillary took of Norgay
A photograph of splendour
To mark their little foray.

Hillary left a cross there
Up on the windswept top
And maybe he said a prayer
On their fifteen minute stop.

And it's true, tho' you may not know
That Norgay left something too
Buried slightly in the snow
Before he too, withdrew.

One glossy chocolate
As an offering to ... what?
Perhaps t'was past its use-by-date
Or, then again, perhaps not.

Carefully they went back down
The way they'd clambered up.
And before too long these two renown
Had hot soup in a cup.

But less commonly known
Is the third to top the bastard.
For the third ascent was lone,
So verily, better mastered.

For Sherpas often privately speak
Of a creature very hefty
Who'd climb the highest mountain peak
For a single chocolate: Yeti.

7 comments:

  1. Hmmm. In fact make that a Hmmmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such poetic talent revealed! I say throw away the pastels and the paints, the charcoal and the canvases for it's time for you to embark on a new career as New Zealand's answer to Carol Ann Duffy. May I take a single grain of satisfaction from the knowledge that I may have sparked your muse?

    ReplyDelete
  3. (Glancing at fingernails modestly) well, actually, I thought it was rather fun, myself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wait...what? You wrote this, Kate?

    Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was laughing all the way to the airport. Very nicely done! (posted over a very slow connection with a very old phone)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree with mr fox
    couldnt say it better myself

    ReplyDelete
  7. In my Perfect Rhymes class, I learned that Yeti doesn't rhyme with hefty. Yeti rhymes with confetti.

    ReplyDelete

Spam will go in the incinerator. All other comments are gratefully received. Communication is what makes the world go 'round.