Angels

‘We’re floating up with the Angels,’

Said the girl in the pale green dress,

She’d voiced the phrase in German

For the girl had hailed from Hesse,

‘I never have dreamt of a night like this,

We soar like the gods of old,’

Then they came and shut all the windows,

For the night was growing cold.

 

There wasn’t a shake or a shudder

From the platform in the sky,

The waters of the Atlantic streamed

Below, but they were dry,

A headwind slowed their progress

And a storm was coming on,

The flickers of distant lightning lit

The path that they flew along.

 

The following day, the coast appeared

But the rain set in the more,

Rather than land, the captain took them

Over the Jersey shore,

The weather was bad at Lakehurst, so

They whiled away the hours,

Floating up there above the clouds

And the steady springtime showers.

 

They finally dropped the mooring lines

As the crew stood by below,

When a sudden flash was seen up aft

And a roar began to grow,

The ship was lit like a candlestick

As the gas and the fabric scorched,

While a flame enveloped the girl in green

And lit her up like a torch.

 

The frame crashed down on the gondola

And all you could hear were cries,

It was almost as if the gods had screamed:

‘How dare you enter our skies?’

They say that St. Elmo’s Fire was seen

By the watchers, down on the ground,

But there wasn’t a trace of the girl in green

When the Hindenberg went down.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I love the fantastic imagery in the following lines:

"While a flame enveloped the girl in green
And lit her up like a torch."

At 14 years of age, Irene Doehner was the only female child on the flight; and she perished along with her father, a Mexican merchant.

[Sheila Kline]

Oh my! An absolutely mesmerizing account of such a horrific tragedy! I didn't get it until I read "the Jersey shore" and I wondered what in Australia would have a "Jersey". Then after reading it to the end, I understood. The description of the little girl in the green dress made it so much more real......so sad, so very, very sad!
Beautifully crafted my friend!!

[shallimarRose]

Woah.. I didnt see that ending coming.. Another flawless thyme David.. sending huggs... Rose

[Baby Ricochet]

WOW! A poem about the Hindenburg disaster. OH THE HUMANITY!

[Tate Morgan]

Beautiful rendition of the infamous Hindenburg story. You got it right as far as i can remember.The rain was the cause of the static electric shock. Or so many say. Well done well written Dave.I am a bit of a history buff.I always was fascinated with the few airships that were built. Very nice.

[Adam M. Snow]

What an amazing work of literature art. Love it.

[David Scott]

Historical fictions read so well. I enjoy Follett's books, but you tell a story as well with keen efficiency.
Why were they fated so?
Another excellent poem David.