WHAT MAY BEFALL

Disaster

WHAT MAY BEFALL

 

Pearl clumps of snow drape the house

Mask  windows, doors

Power out

Frigid darkness envelops the once luminous, cozy home

Fireplace burns endless sums of logs

Panic reaches to the blurry sky

Hearts beats to a rapper thump

A musical crescendo

A poet’s denouement

 

The pair huddle near fusion of orange yellow blue flames

At first crackling, sparks, lingeringly

Wither into gray ash

Smother in sweaters, jackets, hats, mittens

A topping of furry blankets console them

Firewood becomes scant

They ponder burning  dining room table

For increased wood

Alas, too precious to trash

 

Inept to discern neighbor’s house

They must dig tunnel for survival

Snow blinds them, eyelids crust

Neighbor desperate to reach them

They both toil, sweat in their labors

To stretch the distance

To a requisite rescue

Howling winds they hearken

Debility shrouds them

Until they vanish from sight

 

Days after, the snowdrift dissipates

Four frozen bodies lay in the sun’s radiance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

This story is partially true!; Appalachian Mountains 1993

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

In these days of global warming, you don't expect to hear tales such as this one, but they still occur. The couple's desperate efforts to escape the encroaching snow are chillingly (no pun intended) recorded here. We find ourselves hoping for their success, but it is not to be. Nature can be beautiful, but also cruel.

[Betty Hermelee]

Thanks so much John, yes this occurred in the Appalachian Mountains in March of ‘93. It was a record snowstorm and many people died because emergency vehicles couldn’t get to rescue people
Best, B.

[Dave Brown]

A sad story
It doesn't really happen now, but years ago we always got huge dumps of snow
Couldn't get in or out until serviced by the grader, had to continuously clean off our roofs but never heard of anyone dying as a result
In a reverse way, this reminds me of the 'Grapes of Wrath'

[Betty Hermelee]

Thanks so much Dave. This was called the “storm of the century” in ‘93, in the Appalachian Mountains; some people died because they couldn’t get rescued in time….we were in sunny Italy , fortunately

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

I can't even begin to imagine having to live in such a harsh environment as that . Here is this are of northern California we have only had snow fall once and that was back in the early 70's and on a single day. Up in the mountains though it is a bit different but even still it tends to be rare these past few years. To hear stories of those states experiencing drastic snowfall is just something unimaginable to us here in my neck of the woods. It is harrowing to think of freezing to death slowly in a home without any way to heat. And yet these past few years in the news because of the extreme weather now it has become all too common a thing. Thank you B for this eye opening truthful piece of poetry.

[Betty Hermelee]

Thank you so much Carlos….this was a record snowfall in the Appalachian Mountains, March of ‘93
Many people died because they couldn’t get rescued…
Power out for two weeks
Best
B.