Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Sailing


My high school best friend posts 
frantically on Facebook about the 
tsunami in Japan and the coastal 
side-effects heading straight for her 
section of northern California. 
She posts picture after picture of the marina, 
before shots tranquil, soothing, attractive, 
sailboats at mooring, waiting to 
leave port with absent owners;
in progress shots showing the rising
water, the rocking boats, the terrifyingly
powerful pull of the ocean as it draws
all the way out, leaving boats sprawling
obscenely, sand glistening, then rushing, roaring in,
crashing the serene and perfect vessels
against the docks, each other, and other
detritus swirling with the storm;
after shots, piles of matchstick
wood, heaps of trashed beauty,
scuttled and mangled boats, and
areas swept clean of formerly tidily
settled beachfront.
She pleas for prayers and mercy,
her fear infecting and motivating me
across thousands of land-locked
miles, and I hope, fixing my eyes on those
first pictures, that the damage and recovery
won't be as bad as she projects.
(Posted for Bluebell Books Short Story Slam, Week 4, 6-22-11)

11 comments:

  1. Well done. The serenity mixed with fear was very real and tense!

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  2. It can all change in an instant - from calm to storm, and vice versa. We have no control, Very well written.

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  3. I like the vivid way in which you have portrayed the pre- and post-tsunami landscape . Very real description .
    http://writer-in-transit.co.za

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  4. Reading this, I can see the whole tragedy again..you painted this reality very well...

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  5. This is very moving and deeply affecting the tragedy so recent its still very painful to think about

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  6. Recovery-such a positive and significant word, no matter what the context.

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  7. Fantastic write! I hope that indeed the clean up and moving forward do not become further mired...

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  8. So fragile, we be smashed by awesome waves...
    So determined, we rebuild on tsunami shores...

    A haunting reminder that man is always at the mercy of a Powerful Earth!

    Nicely Done!

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  9. Incredible visual you've given us with your words!

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