Victory

Scepticism often attaches itself to a photograph labelled iconic
Old Glory raised on Iwo Jima
MacArthur wading ashore to return
an exuberant V-J Day kiss in Times Square
a loincloth waiting to vote in an arid ex dictatorship.

Staged?
Ex post facto?
Photoshopped?

Authenticity is absolute – verifiable by God
the most characterful photographs ever taken
chapter one verse one emotion as subject.
Disappointment. Five men. Defeated. The South Pole.

It is unfaceable – a Norwegian tent
a camera and piece of string
capture rawness for posterity
they leave only photographs and diaries.

Death by starvation. Malnutrition as accomplice
ambition the money man paying for the hit
a brutal quotient too many miles not enough food.
Double or quits?

Everybody is a winner
except the one who did
glorious failure trumps flawless professionalism
to history Scott is a legendary figure
Amundsen a footnote.