Seize the Day

radio playing, laughter transforms

into screams, metal crunching and

closing in, a flash of red hair,

or is it blood

 

the smell of dirt and smoke,

hands pull me from the wreckage,

covered in crimson water that

is not my own

 

            searching eyes and choked shrieks,

            where are they, where are-

 

face-down, still, twisted into

unnatural positions, unconscious,

the deafening screams are my

own, falling to my knees

 

helpless, seeing red but not in

anger, somewhere an ambulance

arrives, parents and bystanders

watch with unwavering fear

 

            they scream for their mother, and

            she is not breathing anymore-

 

uncontrollable shaking, a breath is

finally taken, but the battle is not won,

rushing, bright lights, tears and mud

staining my cheeks

 

she can only see shadows, his neck

is broken, another scream, a phone goes

off in the next room, a man in uniform

takes my hand and doesn't let go

 

~Mad Swirl 2014~

~People Are Amazing Online E-Zine 2014~

Author's Note

http://madswirl.com/poetry/2014/06/seize-the-day/



This is about a wreck I was in during October 2010.

Reviews

[Relic]

I've seen the carnage of car accidents on youtube and I'm struck by the horror of the aftermath. You are very brave to write this. To experience such a tragic event has got to be with you in the back of your mind for the rest of your life.

Yesterday, as I was driving on the expressway, I saw so much madness from drivers wanting to be at their destinations NOW. They foolishly flew by me like I was standing still. If only they could see and feel what you experienced they would know anything can happen at any time to anyone.

Your vivid descriptions and photos bring a reality to the poem in a way only a victim of the experience can convey. Indeed, we should all seize the day because it could all end in a second. Excellent writing.

[Brittany Zedalis]

The irony is that several of the people involved in this accident drive recklessly today. They complain about their pain from the crash (ignorant of my own, or maybe they just don't care) yet put themselves into danger everyday despite what happened. I hate the road, I hate cars.

Thank you for reading this. It was the first thing I wrote about the crash.

[R.E. Ray]

Brittany, this poem hit me hard. I have a similar story, though I wasn't directly involved. My father survived, but his father, grandfather and three others in another car died that day. I can't imagine the pain and agony you've endured the past few years. And, to write about is beyond courageous.

In addition to the gripping story you tell, it's well written and packed with so much vivid imagery, the reader can see this tragedy unfolding on the screen. I look forward to reading your other work.

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you! It was very hard for me to write this one. Everyone survived, but I was treated like trash afterwards by all of them because I was the driver. Didn't matter that it was an accident that could've happened to anyone. I had to be courageous to write and post it because I knew that there would be backlash for me putting my side of it out there (there was), but it really helped me heal to write it down. This year makes 8 years since it happened and I still remember it like yesterday.

[Brittany Zedalis]

I also wrote a prose/blog post about the event on my wordpress site if you want to read it. https://brittanyzedalispoetry.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/breathe/

[R.E. Ray]

I check it out. Thank you for sharing!

[....................]

A terrible accident that you are able to write about, so vividly, driven by emotions that could only be captured by one who survived. Sometimes we are unable to write so clearly about past trauma but you have done so quite skilfully. I was in an accident more than twenty years ago and walked away from it without much physical damage but I have never written about it. Good work!

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you. I wasn't able to write about it until I got through all of the emotional trauma it caused me. Even now, I still sometimes have nightmares about it.

[....................]

These things stay with us and only ease in their intensity as we age. Something tells me you will be okay though :)

[Brittany Zedalis]

I'm sure I will be. I barely had any support from anyone to get through it, I pretty much did it on my own so it took several years. But if I managed to get through the hell it gave me for several years, I'll be fine in the future.

[....................]

Yes, indeed... quite adaptable you appear to be... a very good skill to have in this life!

[Brittany Zedalis]

With a life like I've had, adaptation is the only option.

[Perdition]

Has the madness found you yet? If not then this is pretty damn close and if so then this is just stumbling, amazingly good. You've taken the horrid and sudden details and turned them inside out for this reader. Almost five years passed and yet I am slammed and in the car. I am worn in every sense over the way you weave back and forth, in and out with continuation of narrative mirroring the shock of this terrible experience. And yet here you are alive and writing so very well. Well if you need, you may borrow some of my madness but to me you seem more than just a little capable. This is wonderful. Thanks Luna~

[Brittany Zedalis]

After the nightmares I've had the past couple of nights, I'm sure the madness I need is just around the corner. Thank you for taking the time to read this one. It was a horrible thing to go through but writing this helped.

[Perdition]

Nightmares? Corners? You ARE getting closer. Now once I hear a cello things are really gong to..OH..there it is…Well, smile writer you're almost home. This was a pleasure to read …I will return again but for now I must write of an elegant disease. Hope to see more when I am done.

[dan]

Luna, This is so gripping, I felt like I was one of the onlookers praying for the best result. I must compliment you on your outstanding descriptive profile of the scene. About 6 months ago my wife totaled our car and should have died, but walked away without a scratch. I'm so sorry that there were casualties in your accident, and I don't know if survivor's guilt came into play, but just thank God you made it. Powerful read, thank you for sharing it with all of us. take care...dan

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you for reading. There were no casualties in the end thankfully; everyone survived. But one of my friends briefly stopped breathing completely shortly afterwards. Cops told me that from looking at the wreckage, I shouldn't have survived and they don't know how I managed to. It wasn't until 4 years after the crash that I was able to write about it.

[dan]

Thankfully you walked away instead of riding a gurney. I know my wife is still traumatized after 6 months; hopefully you are over it now. take care...dan

[JD Jessop]

Pain is conveyed to the point of almost understanding something you can't possibly understand unless you experience it yourself. Great job.

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you, JD!

[Angad Waraich]

This piece is gutwrenching.
The imagery is just coaching.
Wonderful Penmanship.

Thank you for sharing.
-Angad

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you!

[Renée]

With every turn of each line..Heart wrenching .. I love how you closed your poem with handholding..
I am glad, that you are able to express yourself after such an ordeal.. Blessings to you Luv.. you're a strong one !

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you so much

[Renée]

( : It was my privilege to read

[Fabian G. Franklin]

A very powerful and moving piece of reality.

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you!

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Damn girl, you really put quite the emotional spin of such a tragic loss in tornado like fashion.

[Brittany Zedalis]

Yeah, I definitely did. Thank you ^-^