Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Sinking of The Titanic

[ written in Nmmc hospital when a professor we've been trying to evade caught us and insisted that we hear his lecture .... of course he's famous for doing that and we are famous for running away from him . Concerned students know who I am talking about , and will agree that this was a better use of my time :P and since I still have to pass this year - I'm not saying the name - even on my blog ... maybe next year :P ]

The Sinking of The Titanic

An evening on the deck ,
The sun has set ,
and the rays have
stopped shimmering on
the ripples and the waves , 
I stand next to my beloved , 
His arms are around me
and we plan our lives together ,
after coming back home 
from the New World 


Lovers promenade across the deck ,
Excited children yell across ,
A blue eyed , blond , bonny lass
runs past us ,
Her sash almost getting caught in my purse ,
shrieking with laughter she is ,
Her brother runs after her ,
waving his cap as he 
canters across the deck ,
The moonlight starts shining 
on his copper curls 


The clinking of champagne glasses
is heard ,
Violins are being played ,
What sweet melodies and memories
are being drawn from its strings
Laughter and chatter is heard in the air
Old men and women are seated 
in the deck chairs ,
In all their English finery ,
Marvelling at the wonder 
which is ,
' The Unsinkable ' , it is 
' The Titanic '


My husband is whispering ,
"How about a dance now , dearest ?"
A shy glance at him ,
a look in his blue eyes ,
And I get ready for the ball
A cold dry wind , is blowing across
the icy Atlantic ,
ruffling up my soft brown curls ,
I smile , He laughs ,
his eyes crinkle up


Soft , fast music can be heard ,
from the lower decks ,
and gentle laughter and voices
filled with fun , drifts up to ours
"A waltz " , I think
" The privilege of the poor
to do everything fun and jolly
without inhibitions ,
with a right "


He lifts his arm
white and fair , with the
artistic grace required of a surgeon , 
to brush my hair out of my eyes , 
and then


A sudden sharp shrieking sound ,
grating across our ears , 
The ship rocks a bit , 
I lose my balance
and the same arm catches me


A puzzled silence , 
The world seems to stand still then
Even the wind has stopped swishing
A murmur of voices start
drifting across the deck , 
Like words that run off the page 
A feeling of dread fills me up , 
"This is not right " , 
and a sudden horrible thought
of it all ending badly 
engulfs me ,
"Its going to be fine 
this is the unsinkable ship "
I reassure myself 


And then , the winds of time
have changed ,
frantic cries of horror are heard ,
"Why does he look so worried ?
surely he knows its going to be fine ....?"
I am frantic , and rooted to the spot
He's pulling my arm ,
shouting to get to 
the other end of the ship


Time flies ,
One hour becomes two
and two become three ,
and Titanic is sinking ........

The lights go out ,
more screaming ,
People are falling 
in the icy coffin
of the Atlantic ,
and I know not whether 
They are dead or alive 

And a new fear begins to engulf me ,
I can't talk about it ,
think about it ,
He's shouting, " I'll love you 
forever , my darling ,
you know that ! "
I find myself repeating the same words , 
Hugging and kissing and moving ,
towards the lifeboats

And the we reach
and I finally wake up ,
enough to give my husband ,
a proper good - bye 
No words are needed ,
We hold each other long and hard

Then - then I am seated , 
in the 'Survivor's throne'
and it is lowered , 
Soft mournful music
floats over us , 
and I look up at his face , 
He is on the deck , 
The flares light up above him

For a moment there is hope ,
I feel , maybe he shall be saved , 
but I know that it is
not meant to be ,
He's a man , and I am a woman ,
and a woman always lives
and gives ,
His life is what she always gives

I know not , what will happen to him ,
Our boat touches the water ,
I can see him , no more ,
"What will he be ?" , I wonder
A survivor , a man stranded at sea , or ..."
something too dreadful - I shiver ,
and it is not the wind that makes it so ,
Then I notice my gloves are wet ,
They are my tears ........

"Who have you left behind my lass ?" 
asks an elderly woman next to me ,
"My husband ", I say , dazed and lost 
"How long ?", asks she
" Four days - we were newlyweds ", I say
and my lifeboat glides across the sea ,
into the ethereal eternity .