This poem comes from Nick Drake's 'The Farewell Glacier' collection, which was compiled after the poet had travelled to the High Arctic as part the 2010 Cape Farewell expedition. This expedition brought together scientists and creatives on a journey around Svalbard and Spitsbergen. The aim was to harness the power of creative minds to find ways to relay back to the general public, the vast majority of whom will never have the opportunity to experience the Arctic first-hand, the fragility and wonder of this threatened environment.

The subject of this particular poem is the British explorer Wally Herbert, who was the first man confirmed to have walked to the North Pole. By the time the British Trans-Arctic Expedition returned in 1969, although the feat was acknowledged and lauded, it was eclipsed by man landing on the moon. The poem is about the unforgiving, relentless march of progress. However, it does make the point that replicating a manned moon landing may be more likely than replicating the particular route taken on the trek across the Arctic, given the unprecedented melting of the ice.