We Stood Beneath the Matterhorn - a Love Poem

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The Matterhorn was one of the last Alpine peaks to be climbed because of its shear faces. In 1865, Edward Whymper along with four other Englishmen and two local guides finally made the ascent from the Swiss side near the Village of Zermatt.

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The ascent ended in tragedy on the way back down when the rope broke and the four English climbers plunged to their deaths. Only Whymper and the two Swiss guides survived. Since then, more than 500 climbers have died trying to climb the Matterhorn.

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Inspired by a visit to Zermatt and a trip up the Gornegrat to view the Matterhorn at more than 11,000 feet, a young man writes about unrequited love. More than 500 men have died trying to climb the Matterhorn's shear peak and similarly, many a man's heart lays crushed and broken when his love is rejected like the bodies of the climbers who tried and failed.

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We Stood Beneath the Matterhorn - A Love Poem

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We stood beneath the Matterhorn one clear September day.

It’s snow-capped peak was glistening in the sun.

Five hundred men have perished, trying to find a way

To climb her, but the mountain has always won.

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We stood beneath the Matterhorn one bright September day.

Your hair was streaked with auburn in the sun.

I offered up my heart to you, my love would find a way,

To reach you, but your heart could not be won.

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We stood beneath the Matterhorn one dark September day.

The clouds appeared and covered up the sun.

The voices of five hundred men cried out from their graves,

For mercy, but the mountain gave them none.

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We stood beneath the Matterhorn one bleak September day.

The clouds increased and blotted out the sun.

You listened to my pleading heart, then slowly turned away.

And my heart lay crushed and broken at your feet.

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Convinced that he is meant to spend the rest of his life alone and unloved, the young man finally gives up. Two years later, a routine visit to see his relatives over Christmas, changes his life forever. His niece invites one of her friends over for New Year's Eve and the evening is magic. The complete story is told in another love poem:

New Years Eve

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The love story continues when there is an outbreak of Cryptosporidium in the city when the young man comes to visit his newly found love. Instead of attending a series of carefully planed events, he is forced to nurse her back to health with surprising results.

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