Lotto

One year in every ten
A mortal cold to men

Besets this barren cap

At odds of ten to one
The game of chance is on

They drag across the map

Long nights at thirty under
Cast eye upon their plunder

Now deeper sets the trap

Bad luck to play its part
In shutting down the heart

A blizzard shuts the gap

Poor huddled clutch of souls
A clump of dying coals

The fragile lifelines snap

Research revealed that South Pole weather patterns involve a fierce and
unendurable cold about every 10 years. In 1912, Scott's Polar
expedition unknowingly chose one of those years.