I found the following poem in my grandfather’s papers . His name isn’t on it but I’ve searched excerpts in google and received no results, so I think it’s safe to say he wrote it. I like it because it’s an authorial effort beyond his typical mountaineering work and therefore seems more personal. I also appreciate any work thematically dedicated to the premise that time destroys everything. I did some research and I was able to identify the sports stars he name checks in the second verse– some known to me an
Was he not ten feet tall? What deft Apollo of some forty years flown by Whose feats the frenzied fans in terraced roar acclaimed In long gone golden days by Summer suns sustained
His peers were Louis , Lindrum , Owens , Bradman , Budge : And other giants whose names in banner headlines blazed Ousting from pride of place – dirt – death – and musty politics. HE was the grand occasion – HIS the immortal hour.