Sir John Franklin’s Mitten
And Snow Shoes
I want to connect with your spirit,
place my feet upon your snow shoes,
imagine each determined step,
hear the ghostly echo of your footfall,
inhale scented remains of leather boots.
I want to place my hand inside
your left-hand mitten,
touch its black baize cuff
feel the softness of red silk edging,
recover the warmth of your hand.
I want to read your watch and compass,
follow and time your route, count wild stars,
listen to the bull-seal’s roar, return to the
Northwest passage where the Intuits
in skin canoes found the way through.
In this alien landscape howling gales
have sculptured ice and snow, forged
icebergs, opened and closed frozen waste.
I want to build you a cairn on the shoreline,
admire your courage, find your remains and
bring you back to Lincolnshire.
Copyright Maureen Sutton 03 08 2015
Franklin and his 128 officers and crew died during the mission to find the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Artic. The two ships-Erebus & Terror- were last seen on July26th 1845 at Baffin Bay.
And Snow Shoes
I want to connect with your spirit,
place my feet upon your snow shoes,
imagine each determined step,
hear the ghostly echo of your footfall,
inhale scented remains of leather boots.
I want to place my hand inside
your left-hand mitten,
touch its black baize cuff
feel the softness of red silk edging,
recover the warmth of your hand.
I want to read your watch and compass,
follow and time your route, count wild stars,
listen to the bull-seal’s roar, return to the
Northwest passage where the Intuits
in skin canoes found the way through.
In this alien landscape howling gales
have sculptured ice and snow, forged
icebergs, opened and closed frozen waste.
I want to build you a cairn on the shoreline,
admire your courage, find your remains and
bring you back to Lincolnshire.
Copyright Maureen Sutton 03 08 2015
Franklin and his 128 officers and crew died during the mission to find the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Artic. The two ships-Erebus & Terror- were last seen on July26th 1845 at Baffin Bay.
No comments:
Post a Comment