Tim Harris
Our Landing on Elephant Island
In April 1916 Shackleton and his men landed on Elephant Island
The fairy princess would not have understood
The pleasure of lying on stones.
The hard irregularities would have been
Beyond her endurance.
No seven downy mattresses for us
And certainly no pea to rest them on.
Our world was hard as ice, compact as snow.
We craved the irregularities of stones
That could not break beneath us,
Or drift away to an uncertain somewhere.
We could never have rested secure
On the seven downy mattresses.
Could not have slept.
We needed proof of the earth beneath us,
Wanting stones hard against our backs,
Like a reminder of land, of its permanence,
Of its unyielding nature.
We craved the tyranny of stones.
The fairy princess would not have understood
The pleasure of lying on stones.
The hard irregularities would have been
Beyond her endurance.
No seven downy mattresses for us
And certainly no pea to rest them on.
Our world was hard as ice, compact as snow.
We craved the irregularities of stones
That could not break beneath us,
Or drift away to an uncertain somewhere.
We could never have rested secure
On the seven downy mattresses.
Could not have slept.
We needed proof of the earth beneath us,
Wanting stones hard against our backs,
Like a reminder of land, of its permanence,
Of its unyielding nature.
We craved the tyranny of stones.
Page(s) 55
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