Picture by Jimmiehov, copyright 2014, all rights reserved
I awoke slowly, my head
I awoke slowly, my head was throbbing,
my arm was bleeding, am I still alive?
I remembered that moment, downward we
Until the next second, seeming eons
We crashed. People screaming, babies crying
Then I fell again, out of consciousness
I awoke to moaning, hushed sobs, no tears
Some alive, some wishing death, most were dead
Then I saw him, silver cane in hand, tall
Cold were his eyes, a gruesome grey, shining
Red rays emitted, piercing dark corners
Seeming to be searching the rubble, looking
I began his search, those alive we helped
Splinted an arm or leg, stopped their bleeding
Pulled and walked them from the plane, yet no fire
The dead we piled, strange, he marked with his cane
When I awoke again all was quiet
No grimness, no airplane, no bodies seen
Another man, golden cane in his hand
Was I dead, was I marked by the other
No scratches could I feel, my head was clear
Clear from the scratch of the dead, clear from aches
No bleeding, no cuts, like it never was
The man with the golden cane met me then
Smiling he said, quite an ordeal you had
It's over now, thanks for helping down there
We didn't miss a soul, ours are all here
The living went on, rest marked for the fire
_ _ _ _
Poem copyright , © 2016 Jimmiehov, All rights reserved
I am linked twice at the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.
Once with Kerry O'Conner at A Skyflower Friday -- Shipwreck (link) and
Again with Marian Kent at Tuesday Platform (link)
Well written. This seems real. (I've been in a crash. This seems too real!)
ReplyDeleteQuite a saga.
ReplyDeleteOh this is stark.. like a sea shanty of a shipwreck set in modern times... oh that wreck and the selection process.... one of your best I think
ReplyDeleteVery well done. The form and the subject are perfectly matched. The imagery is very strong.
ReplyDeleteIs it a dream or reality......
ReplyDeleteAnd the rest are marked for fire. Eek!
ReplyDeleteVery impressive, quite intriguing really, i still dont know if to accept fact or fiction issues in reading, i smiled, happy for the persona who escaped the wreck of fire (eternal fire no!)
ReplyDeletehappy Tuesday Jim
much love...
With the numerous aeroplane disasters of recent years, your story awakens all the fears of such a terrible kind of modern day shipwreck. Your point of view places the reader in the crux of the moment with undeniable skill.
ReplyDeleteQuite powerful, Jim - and chilling too - as if a nightmare, but even more chilling the realities of such wreckage, on earth - even more scary is the thought of the eternal fire below. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteChilling, realistic....Powerful piece!
ReplyDeleteWhat an ending!
ReplyDelete