Flood

My town was recently headline news when it and others experienced the worst flooding here in decades. This is what I've spent the subsequent weeks writing...

There are two worlds. The other one, of coffee shops and heartache,

and this one, 

experiencing the apocalypse.

From the river. Through the drains.

Through the ground, and the floor, and the carpets,

and homes, and livelihoods, and lives, 

the water is rising.

It brings in a flood of reporters and cameras;

forecasts, politicians, tweets and hashtags. For two days, it doesn't seem real, to me -

then the lights flick off, and the internet drops: 

my life vanishes. 

I am blackness,

and knowledge of the water outside, glinting, and creeping closer.

Fumbling through the house, 

I find a little blue torch,

and venture out.

Empty space.

Above, below: starlight.

It feels as if life is yet to form.

Tesco is lit up like a dream. I drift towards it.

On the way, from the dark, a stranger coalesces. He gives me a lighter. And, later, a bag of candles,

which, in an Eastern European accent, he suggests I also offer to others who may be in need.

Although he may not know them, this man has sisters and brothers. They are

the people who stitched the towns together with sandbags.

Who shouted for those who quivered in their homes. 

Who wrapped their arms around these communities and held the water, and the fear of water, back.

Su Burrows in Wraysbury,

saving the world.

Floods, rising up - but some of us rise faster.

Reviews

[m.s.early]

Your imagery and metaphors are of a mastery that is incredible. This is the stuff that belongs in history books and museums that document not only the facts of historical events but offer a window into the human condition the facts affected. You did a fantastic job flooding with reporters and capturing the human aspect of cataclysm. Outstanding.

100 stitched sandbags

[Jonathan Dalton]

Wow, how lovely of you to say Xavier! I don't really know how to respond, except to say your words have put a big smile on my face, haha.
When I publish a collection your review would make a fine blurb for the back of the book!

[m.s.early]

You're welcome. I've been keeping up with the crazy events this winter across the country. This is a testimonial piece that deserves a more critical analysis than I am educated to give. It deserves dignified attention at the least. It's impeccable poetry.

[Beccy]

So lucky that here in Northamptonshire we escaped the flooding. Your poem brings into sharp focus the devastation Mother nature can wreak, but it also shows how such disasters can bring out the good in humankind.

Beccy.

[Claire in VA]

Fantastic write!
I've never been in a flood, until tonight.
I look forward to reading more of your work.
~Claire

[Jonathan Dalton]

Thank you Claire for your lovely comments. The response I've received has been heartwarming... !