No wonder I’m fascinated by *Shackleton –

his Arctic expedition filled with both brilliance and failure.

We’re on a sinking ship too, no doubt,

and I suppose I’m the captain.

(So I let them club some baby seals today.)

Inner city kids-kindred spirits with the crew of the Endurance-

watching it fall apart around them,

seeing beautiful things where other simply can’t,

realizing trust and respect are more priceless than the treasure others trade for.

They will not die because times are hard-

they just get harder.

But this isn’t Antarctica yet.

(Let them be little.) 

4/12/16

s. Jensen

*Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was a polar explorer who led three expeditions to the Antarctic, and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Shackleton attempted the crossing of Antarctica from sea to sea. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed and sank before the crew could be landed at their final destination.