Rungholt

a village on the North German coast flooded in 1362...

Whirls of wicker and calico,

          of turf and salt,

          of cats and fish.

The eyes of those

          surprised by sudden depths,

          are bitter and open.

They drink sea under the glass

          of a cracked tide,

          in green tunnels of waves.

The water children flail under a sea moon.

The sea drags across the dark silt,

          hear the bell, hear the bells. 

        

Reviews

[Lyn Anderson]

The images are stark and real. I especially like this type of poem that prompts me to research something.

[Coyote Song]

You've captured history in a brilliant and skillfully done poem. Your words really brings this poem alive like a picture would. A very sad and tragic moment in history. This is fantastic!!!

[Tina Kline]

This is brilliant writing. Your words paint the picture of this incident in your own unique way. I got a cold feeling from this from this watery tragedy. Powerful writing.

[Leslie Philibert]

A kind of tragedy that proves that sadness is not confined to our times, that is the message I try to convey. Thanks for looking at this.

[Tina Kline]

You;re so true. History seems to be mainly about tragedies. You're very welcome.

[V]

I haven't read anything by you for a while. Your use of words is fitting and reads nice, powerful but with a certain tranquility and creating vivid and clear images. I wonder what made you write about a village in Germany, interest in history?

[Leslie Philibert]

Thanks for looking at this. The idea came from a book I read that described how a village in North Germany was flooded by a massive tide in the Middle Ages, with great loss of life. I couldn`t get this image out of my head, and I simply liked too the name of the village. So I just tried to write about it.

[V]

You managed that pretty well. Thanks for the explanation.