Explorers, Antarctica, 1901
The leader sits on the sledge.
He never does this.
It’s against the rules of the expedition
but now there are no rules.
Two huskies – the two
remaining huskies, they ate the rest –
sit either side like imperial lions.
The ship is stuck in frozen waves.
The crew are starving or dead
but this photo will be evidence
that they reached their destination.
The photographer in the black hood.
Stepping back. Pulling the cord. The flash.
…
Pam Thompson is a writer and lecturer based in Leicester. Her publications include The Japan Quiz ( Redbeck Press, 2009) and Show Date and Time (Smith | Doorstop, 2006) and Strange Fashion (Pindrop Press, 2017). She is a 2019 Hawthornden Fellow.
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