impact

[fdelano]

My first attempt at poetry, circa 1991:

 

jungle boots in alien

juxtaposition with

riveted metal deck

 

shrieking alert in

headset matches

dire radar strobes

 

maneuvers called

signals jammed to

no avail shrill

 

g-force maximum

as bomber meets

homing missile

 

glare from sun

and fire

as fuselage splits

 

open space

dump of metal

and human cargo

 

falling screams

swept away

by slipstream

 

inexorable fate

draws ever near

in silent welcome

 

keening

dear ones faithful

to safe return

[fdelano]

For me, writing is wonderfully cathartic, having nothing to do with politics or personal views. My writing is in a sense history as original source, similar but world's apart from the views of St. Brendan. Writing is my way, as I am sure it is for many, of dealing with life. Understand the words or disparage them for whatever reason, they are not intended as controversy, only as a reflection of past reality.

Franklin/Paco

[dcmarti1]

You deftly used words I have never, and could never, use in a poem. This poem is, like you said, a mirror but not a judgment. Crafted piece, this. And still evoked great sadness for me.....

[dr_con]

Well wrought! Enjoyed your first foray into the this damnable swamp! I too, see poetry as a momentary reflection of what is happening in my life- occasionally political, but I see politics as personal since no politician to my knowledge represents me;-)

 

Nice Paco!

 

Juris

[fdelano]

Thank you Juris and Marti. This was my first attempt at poetry, edited and modified over the years. It is a mental dealing with the shoot down of BAT-21, Easter Sunday, 1972, the date of my last combat mission. Anyone interested in details can find them by searching Henry Serex, one of the many old farts called to harm's way from piloting a desk.

[tonyv]

I know you said it's been revised a bit, but this is remarkably good for a first attempt. As fuselage splits --

 

... open space
dump of metal
and human cargo

falling screams
swept away
by slipstream ...

-- gave me pause. Would I pass out or have a heart attack before impact? I would hope so. I loved the first verse, too.

 

Tony

[Benjamin]

This for me is an emphatic first hand insight of how warfare in modern times has evolved to be highly efficient-- killing.. a science even. But the resultant effect in human terms never changes. Been reading recently about the "romantic" Richard The Lion-heart at the 3rd Crusade and how he had thousands of Muslim prisoners executed at Acre. Looking around the modern world, human nature never changes; perhaps technology will change the way we perceive both history and ourselves. Geoff

[fdelano]

Geoff, I doubt that History will ever be studied as part of any culture. We are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. IMO.

[moonqueen]

It seems to me history itself, says man never learns; perhaps if it were always the same individuals, the lessons would be learned, but as long as man dies and children are born...as each generation refuses to believe the previous, until they experience it for themselves. And through all this, we continue to kill our home (which seems now to also be fighting back). I see little hope for man, ultimately.

[fdelano]

I also fear you are right, MQ. For more than a half century, we have been capable of ending all life on Earth. I used to fly with two hydrogen bombs; each could kill everything within a hundred miles of ground zero. The policy was MAD, good name for Mutually Assured Destruction. A military officer still follows the president around, carrying the 'football.' The briefcase contains the code to launch nuclear missiles and bombers. Dr. Strangelove was not fiction.