Sep 2013
II**
They flooded our boat
Like Dante’s lustful souls
Screaming, crying, bellowing--
They descend upon salvation.
And their faces-
So pale!
So frosty-reddened with tears
I have never seen faces so ridden with
Defeat.
Utter, valiant
Defeat.
The dearest Carpathia decks held
A strange, huddled mass that night.
In all my years
(And I am indeed with many,
Many years)
I have never seen such a silent desperation
That has made me close my eyes in such
Fear.
I reach, my hand becoming my heart
In fear for these depleted souls
And take them--
One by one.
They flooded our boat
Like Dante’s lustful souls
Screaming, crying, bellowing--
They descend upon salvation.
And their faces-
So pale!
So frosty-reddened with tears
I have never seen faces so ridden with
Defeat.
Utter, valiant
Defeat.
The dearest Carpathia decks held
A strange, huddled mass that night.
In all my years
(And I am indeed with many,
Many years)
I have never seen such a silent desperation
That has made me close my eyes in such
Fear.
I reach, my hand becoming my heart
In fear for these depleted souls
And take them--
One by one.
From a series of poems told from the perspective of the victims and survivors of the Titanic tragedy. I tried to capture here the perspective of a rescuer on the Carpathia.
