Drowning

Foreseeing the worst...

The sight around me is awful to behold

Worse than any tragedies and stories ever told

In a minute or so, I'll join the chorus of cries

Breath of life to piteous creatures denies

Such sweet death to spend with my family

As we hang on to the mercies of a mango tree

Praying to deities to spare us please

From cold waters creeping up our knees

Shouts of help and screams in the air

Unanswered sighs melting to despair

Deaf heavens and unconcerned lords

Unimpressed by hearts' tears and words

Water reaches necks and acceptance sinks in

Where our disbelief and denial have once been

Unfortunate fates--oh tragic! So tragic!

Like Noah's flood and the sinking of Titanic

If hope and rainbows are still not found

No dry land or habitable ground

Hell seems warm and heaven, bright

The less air I breathe, the lovelier the sight...

Author's Note

Friday, November 8, 2013

CEBU (Updated 1 p.m.) -- Typhoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan), considered as the strongest tropical cyclone in the world this year, has made its fifth landfall over Concepcion, Iloilo at noon Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported.

-from http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2013/11/08/typhoon-yolanda-makes-5th-landfall-iloilo-312742

Photo credits: Google Images

-Thanks for those who have expressed their concerns. God bless us all! :)
-My heart weeps for the 10,000 lives lost during the tragedy.

Reviews

[Catherine Frain]

WOW! Powerful strong images can be seen while reading this. I loved it, and I felt a tug of sorrow and pain for the people who are drowned in these storms, as no one is available to help them till after the storm.

I like the last two lines:

"Hell seems warm and heaven, bright
The less air I breathe, the lovelier the sight..."

But I feel as though the comma should be after bright, as it creates a unnatural pause right there.

Overall this was a wonderful poem, even though it's tone was sad.

I hope that anyone who is in the path of Haiyan is safe, and doesn't suffer the same fate.

[Azure Montessa (Blue)]

Katie, no words can fully express how tragic that experience was. Thank you for your kind review and for expressing your concerns. :)

[Xxbeautiful_disasterxX]

It is a devastatingly beautiful poem.

[Michael G. Smith]

Nice depiction of someone's perspective of accepting death.

[TL Boehm]

If hope and rainbows are still not found
No dry land or habitable ground
Hell seems warm and heaven, bright
The less air I breathe, the lovelier the sight...

I grew up in what we call tornado alley. this poem really captures that feeling of watching hell come for you and not being able to do anything about it.

[Eric Pudalov]

Oh, Arzel, I didn't realize that you had experienced this firsthand! I can't imagine what that must have been like, exactly...although I'm certainly glad that *you*, at least were OK.

The poem itself is highly touching, and tragic. I feel that you expressed the sensation of being right there extremely well. In particular, I like these lines:

"Breath of life to piteous creatures denies
Such sweet death to spend with my family
As we hang on to the mercies of a mango tree."

I just picture you and your family members clinging to life, as everything around you is ripped apart. To some degree, I can relate, in that my parents were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. The area around them had massive flooding, as well as fires, and their house was damaged quite badly.

But I'm thankful that you're OK now, and that my parents survived! It's events like these that can really shake one's faith; isn't that true?

[MBUYISA]

powerful poem there Blue

out of this sad situtation you managed to come up with such beautiful piece to touch people's lives.
i like the following lines
''Deaf heavens and unconcerned lords
Unimpressed by hearts' tears and words''

thank you again for sharing

[Rocans]

Sometimes it seems unfair that terrible things like these befall seemingly good people. Such is the chaotic world we live in, we either can be hopeless and embrace atheism or become a Deist ...holding on to hope that there is a God of Providence in the afterlife, a place we can go to feel safe. Very well put Blue, excellent poetry.

[Blue]

Thank you so much, Rocans!

[Prime]

The EFFECTIVE IMAGERY !! This is maybe what most victims experience at the midst of Typhoon Yolanda's wrath.

[Blue]

Thank you so much, Prime!

[MAC]

hard to write poems about disasters. An excellent tribute to something so fresh in our hearts.

[Azure Montessa (Blue)]

Thank you so much, Mark. :)

[Hatchling]

Wow! Amazing Blue!! keep up the great work

[Azure Montessa (Blue)]

Thank youuu. :)

[David Burke]

This is a very touching piece, and the words drip with emotion from begging to end wonderful job kido

[Azure Montessa (Blue)]

Thank you, too, Kiddo. :)

[David Burke]

You're welcome :)