A winter olympics poem - Eddie the Eagle by the Dutch ex-poet laureate Driek van Wissen

EDDIE THE EAGLE

Down the steep slope they all swooshed swiftly down

And in the air they did their level best

To fly the greatest distance from the nest,

With matching talent sought to hold their own.

But one of them was different from the rest:

Unsure of life and limb he stood aloft,

He saw the piste below so white and soft

And, ruffled, hesitated in distress

Till this unsightly eaglet also curled,

With pebble glasses icing up his world,

His wooden frame into a crouching heap

And, taking off with blind ungainly leap,

With flailing arms flopped from his flapping flight

And conquered yet again his fear of heights.