The return of the ski racing poet laureate

The return of the ski racing poet laureate{mosimage}A year ago at U.S. Alpine National Championships in Mammoth, California, Ben Adams was just a rookie on tour. Then a seventh-grader from Granby, Connecticut, Adams had been assigned to write a poem about one of his heroes, and he chose the 2005 overall World Cup champ Bode Miller. He sent the poem to Ski Racing, who published the poem, entitled ‘A Poem for Bode Miller: 2005 World Cup Ski Champion’ and arranged for him to read it at nationals as Miller was awarded with the U.S. male skier of the year award. There, in front of Miller himself, and plenty of other recognizable onlookers, Adams proudly, albeit a bit nervously, read his poem.

Of course, as the Waxroom is well aware and Ben was about to discover, you can’t please all your readers. Sharing the stage with Adams that day last April was U.S. female skier of the year Lindsey Kildow, and she felt a bit slighted. ‘Where’s MY poem?’ she joked.

And so the poet, thus inspired, went to work, creating ‘A Poem for Lindsey Kildow’ homage to Kildow’s grit after her Olympic downhill crash.

This year at nationals, Adams returned a polished pro. Driven to Sugarloaf by his parents, the Ski Sundown Ski Team member took the stage at the Opening Ceremony at Sugarloaf, Maine, peered out at a thousand or so fans and luminaries of the U.S. Ski Team and delivered the goods. While the Waxroom is sure the pure thrill of sharing his art with the masses was payoff enough for the eighth-grader, we also bet the blonde, 21-year-old Kildow putting an arm around him in encouragement wasn’t so bad either.

So without further ado, here is young Mr. Adams’ poem, the second edition.

A Poem for Lindsey Kildow
By Ben Adam

LINDSEY KILDOW, a skier we know well
So many victories, so many stories to tell
But the one that captured my heart and soul
Took place in the Olympics outside of Torino
Down the hill, she was moving fast
When an edge caught and the crowd did gasp
Tumbling, crashing, she landed in a heap
Air lifted to the hospital, no one could speak
But Lindsey, mighty Lindsey would make a return.
A miraculous choice given that crash and burn
At the top of the hill, she was ready to start
Little did we know, we were about to witness art
Through pain and stiffness, she tucked down low
Her courage and grit almost seemed to glow
Through every turn, Lindsey Kildow made haste
Her body held strong and moved with grace
Our hearts were racing at every gate
At the finish line, we could hardly wait
And then she appeared at the speed of light
She completed that race like a bird in flight
This run she had tackled was better than a win
It deserved so much more than a medal or a pin
Lindsey, we Americans raised our hands to the sky
In praise of your spirit, the highest of high.