Thursday, January 5, 2012

Magpie 98...'Fateful Day'

Image Courtesy Tess Kincaid

The river created a perfect mirror, reflecting the beauty of the day
Not so long ago it had flowed a different way
Torrents of rain fell early on high packed snow
Swelling the creeks and rivers below

Father took us to the banks to grapple for logs
The small kids played on the rocks with the dogs
While I watched Mother and Father work with the hook
I climbed a tree with my book

It sounded like approaching thunder
The tree beneath me quivered and fluttered

A wall of water rounded the bend and flowed into the eddy

I dropped my book and clung for dear life
As the water carried away my Father, his children and wife.

copyrighted work of C Hummel Kornell, all rights reserved

8 comments:

  1. that would be a nightmare...wow...love the intensity of this...can feel that rumble in my chest...

    ReplyDelete
  2. what a nightmare...wow...love the intensity of this...can feel that rumble in my chest...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Horrifying and very sad! We seem to have been on a similar wave length on this one. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh that's painful ... you are successful in portraying the fear and the sorrow with great intensity.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah, a sad tale, but well told!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lots of trauma in this poignant piece...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Excellent poem!

    It starts with the beauty and tranquility of the river, and it ends with the horror of tragedy and loss of life.

    I like the rhyming and rhytm of this little powerful poem, and the imagery it displays (the river as a mirror, the tree that quivered..).

    I feel very sad ,though,about its 'finale' - loss of a family and only one survivor.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is sad in the ending! Just a survivor!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete