|
My Heart Sank
When I Heard The News |
 |
|
I can't envision those crewmen's bones
at rest on the bed of that sea,
after their battleship was sunk
by some Japanese submarine.
I'm locked on their handsome faces
as the camera captured their grins,
before they spied those hungry sharks
and their slowly-circling fins.
I can see their oil-slicked bodies
as they struggled to stay afloat
atop an ocean of burning eyes
and those hundreds losing hope.
I watched the famished fall asleep,
too exhausted from holding on;
then I whispered a prayer for them
as the ocean sang its song.
I saw the remnants who were saved,
as they mourned their brothers' dead,
the image of those shark attacks
still dancing in their heads.
I still can't see their bones, however,
at peace beneath the ocean's glare,
but cast to the sea by life's fragility
circling... circling, like sharks in the air. |
By Nancy L. Meek
Copyright 2006
Listed March 29, 2010 |
|
|
This photograph inspired the poem.
Photo #80-G-336932: USS Indianapolis' crewmen. Circa 1944-45
(Courtesy of US Navy) |
|
|
|
About Author... Nancy is the proud wife of William "Billy" J. Meek, a Vietnam War
Veteran, who served with the 1st Cavalry Airmobile Division, 11th Aviation
Group, 228th Battalion, Co. B.
Nancy's website |
| It is illegal to use this poem without the author's permission.
~~ Send your comments and/or use permission request to
Nancy. ~~ |
Poem Use Permission Request
USA Patriotism! cannot
provide use permission for a poem or an author's email address
if not listed below the poem. Only the author or a legal
representative can grant permission. Try a search engine to find the
author's contact information for a use permission request or if
it is available for public use.
Note: Poems authored in the
1700s and 1800s can be used with reference to the author. |
Comment on this poem |
|
| | |
|
| War and Tragedy Poems | Poem Categories |
|
