The Survivors

Grateful acknowledgment is made to yefief (NM) which first published this poem and to The Poetry Society of Virginia for the Honorable Mention citation.

from the collection THIS WAY OUT

The Survivors

We lost our affairs to the sea

When a cloud froze solid

Fell from the sky

And the bow of the ship came too close.

Our cabin slid down the white wall of ice
Dropping through the water
Like a cloud coming apart
In a crossfire of wind and wave.

By the time we hit the top of the mountain
We were ready for the impact
For the bad news echoing over the intercom.
We rolled down slow to the ocean floor
Over and over our lives.

The boat is gone
As the voyage we had planned
Has left our heads
Stuck to a few soft pillows
Of sea-moss.

Looking up
Our eyes searchlights
Beaming through the black water
We have found the white feet of the survivors
Dangling near the surface
Little clouds floating there
To be rescued
For the safety of our dreams.

R Bartkowech