Rasmussen Fell Here Poem by Kim Barney
Rasmussen Fell Here
I wonder who he was, that man
that fell in eighteen eighty-eight
from a fifty-foot precipice
in Monroe Canyon.
We know his name,
but who was he, really?
Did he leave a wife and children?
Are his descendents still around?
I first saw the sign
on the canyon wall
several decades ago.
It fascinated me.
W. H. Rasmussen.
Was he a local man?
Maybe from Salt Lake City?
A visitor from another state?
Google says he was on a pleasure trip,
but doesn't say much more,
except that his throat was cut
on a jutting crag on the way down.
The flesh was also torn from his cheek
and almost every bone was broken
in his body. He was dead on impact.
Not much pleasure in this pleasure trip!
Why didn't they tell us more about him?
So many things we don't know,
and probably never will.
Maybe he didn't fall at all.
Who witnessed the event?
Is it possible that he jumped?
Or was he helped on his final journey
by a not-so-gentle push?
The photograph is of the actual sign painted on the canyon wall. They must repaint it every so often, because it looks fresher than the last time I saw it!
Notice how flat and vertical the rock wall is. It goes straight up like that for a long way!
(It looks like more than 50 feet to me.)
1 August 2018
Utah was not even a state yet when Rasmussen fell in 1888, so this happened in Utah Territory. Utah became a state in 1896.
A fascinating account. It makes a feller want to know more, but I reckon we never will.
So many mysterious characters in the history of the old West. We will never know them, these fellow sojourner's on the path of life. This is a very good poem, I truly enjoyed it.
i 'enjoyed' the 'poem'. a disaster? truly? as you've written, you know little about the event. maybe it solved problems he [0r SOMEONE ELSE] had? maybe he was rock climbing and only fell 50 feet; he could have been near the top, ascending or descending. oops! bri :) perhaps you can consult a Utah psychic.
I get the impression we are reading the rough notes for a poem you meant to versify and rhyme later but never got around to it. stilll interesting as is
Not at all, Wes. I never intended for this poem to be rhymed and metered. I actually wrote it at the suggestion of my sister, who has also been to the location and seen the sign on the rock wall quite a few times. I wrote it just a couple of days after she suggested it to me. (She has written many prize-winning poems and said somebody should write a poem about this, but said she just didn't feel like doing it right now, so I decided that I would do it.
By the way, Wes, thank you for saying that 'Ballad of a Young Brave' was too good to be used just as a set-up for a gag. I have removed it from Poem Hunter, rewritten certain parts, changed the protagonist's name, changed the title, and made it into a serious poem. I will not be putting it back on PH, but will save it for the next contest.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/7/2024 9:39:27 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Good poem! He is not forgotten now. I like the format you've used. There is an element of mystery in this story that keeps us thinking about it. I choose to believe it was an accidental fall. I think the word you want is crag.
Thanks for the comment. You are correct about the word crag. I have corrected it in the poem. I think my brain took a small vacation. Maybe subconsciously I think all words that have the K sound should start with the letter K. Kim, kangaroo, klobber, krag, kancer, kandle...