Poem about Viewing Mount Everest after Asthma Hike

Marc Latham’s latest Folding Mirror poem was written early in November, with some wheezes reminding him of his past asthma, and how it was usually most troublesome as summer passed to autumn and winter.

He was reminded of the poem when watching the Endeavour: Everest trilogy of old documentaries this week. The third one, about the first balloon flight over Everest, was based in Gokyo village, the destination for Marc’s trek. They are available to watch on BBC Online until 22.44 GMT on Monday (unfortunately only in the U.K. I think).

Everest View Poem after Wheezing Asthma

As last year’s asthma passed, Marc appreciated breathing deeply while exercising, and that inspired this poem. That burst of inspiration lasted for five lines of the poem, and then the rest of the poem was created while writing it.

The last time Marc took the asthma inhaler was early in the October 2009 Gokyo-Ri (5,357 m, 17,575 ft above sea level) hike. So the rest of the first half of the poem developed into describing that.

The second half of the poem became one imagining a conversation with Everest, the highest mountain in the world.

Marc has more Nepal photos on Google+

Asthmatic Achievement, Mountain Magnificence

stand tall
breathe deep
scan 360 horizon
gorge fresh clear air
savour accomplishment
feeling gratitude to be alive
I thought A day I’ll never forget

after climbing Gokyo Ri, Mount Everest shouted loudly

It thundered I’m the highest of all
I heard my climbers exclaim
proudest achievement
for me and them
steep 90 angle
we celebrate
our nature

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk), and he has books available on Smashwords and Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/marclatham).

Yetis are Polar Bears that Stayed in Mountains

Hi, it’s Chris Packwolf, wildlife correspondent at the Greenygrey in the style of Chris Packham in the human. Talking of Chris Packham, I think I must apologise for the Greenygrey, because since I took up a similar role in the Greenygrey everybody seems to want to go greenygreying with poor Packham.

Kate Humble and Me

Kate Humble gets a great perfect balance four-way greenygrey (Kate’s green top and green grass matched with the grey sign and wall) with Chris Packham captured in this image:

Kate Humble and Chris Packham (Photo credit: East Point Photography)

In this photo, Me looks like she sneaked the green bag into the photo once Chris was focusing on the camera to create a greenygrey foreground and background double.

Chris Packham and me (Photo credit: JeanM1)

I wonder if the man behind them is Me’s accomplice, getting in another grey to make it eight greenygreys by my reckoning (three greys in the jackets, together with sea and cloud, making five greys altogether, while the bag, trees and grass make three greens).

Greenygreying is of course still in its early years, and the scoring is therefore controversial. The sea could be classed as blue. Maybe one day we’ll have some kind of goal-line/magic eye technology to settle disputed calls.

Yeti and Me

Anyway, I have digressed, and now need a rest, without getting to the main story I’m here to present.

Swimming Polar Bear (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last night I watched a fascinating documentary about yetis in the Himalayas. This has relevance for the Greenygrey as it is also looking for its origins of course.

The Channel Four documentary Bigfoot Files featured DNA analysis of ‘yetis’ found in Ladakh and Bhutan by Professor Bryan Sykes.

The DNA matched that of modern polar bears, so they think yetis are real, and that they are bears descended from the same origins as polar bears before they separated 40,000 years ago.

It’s a great discovery, but I hope it doesn’t lead to more yeti hunting!

There have of course also been sightings of Greenygreys in the Himalayas, including one of Greenygreys congregated in a groupack: