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 .
