A Comfy Kind Of Restless

Hello 🙂

From Textfixer

I got two poems out of the random selection today.  That doesn’t happen often!

The first started to take shape as I read ‘flutter’ and ‘hero’ together, followed by ‘tin’.  I immediately thought of a man in his thirties who liked to place small bets, and usually won something, resulting in him becoming admired in the pub for it; and his pals coming up with a nickname.

But then the story took a dark twist:

Wet  Council  Flutter  Hero  Tin  Crunch  Airship  Molten  Haunting

She shook her drenched umbrella,

On that shockingly wet morn

At the bus stop down on Main Street;

‘Cross from council flats.  Forlorn

Sat a man she knew from legend

Told in public house and street,

A ‘flutter hero’ forced to gutters;

Near-empty tin placed at his feet.

Jungle drums tell that financial crunch

Had his airship fair shot down;

His gambling mixed with drinking –

Then his wife and kids left town.

So our lady with umbrella

Leaves the bus stop, and her ride,

To tell him of the molten sadness

His haunting story stirs inside.

She buys him warming sustenance,

Dries off his clothes and shoes;

Gives him back some of his dignity

(As it humanity behooves)

The rather grand turns of phrase in the above, I think, are to coincide with the ‘legend’ idea.  It also serves to point out that this lady is choosing to do something extraordinary in a normal day.

I like that she is holding an umbrella, as when I read it back I realised that it is a symbol of shelter, inclusion and protection. I thought, too, of famous statues; where they are often fashioned holding items that show what service the depicted person (or god/angel) was purported to provide to the world.

I love how I managed to get this into my 15 minutes (just!!), it rhymes, and the interplay between shoes and ‘hooves in the last line 😉

The second poem came out of my watching BBC News 24’s coverage of the court hearing for the families affected by the Tunisian terror attack, on a beach in Sousse, almost two years ago.  I was touched  by Allen Pembroke’s story of how he saved the life of Cheryl Mellor, whose husband had already been killed. (A fact he subsequently had to break to her)

On a beach wet with blood,

As from Divine Council sent,

He appeared.

He saw her eyelids flutter

(Hero stirring with him.

Heart more than tin)

In this crunch

[No fantastical airship in sight]

He soothed her molten pain.

Images emblazoned:

Already haunting.

Crowded notebook page

I wish I hadn’t had to fit in ‘airship’, but again it shows that this is an ordinary person doing something legendary.

To go back to help others, when your life is clearly in danger, is such a stupendous act of compassion and bravery.

I listened to the recounting of that day by one of the survivors of the attack, Olivia Leithly, and she made the point that no one knows how they will react until they are put in that situation.

I am sure I would have been no help to anyone, I find it so amazing to hear of people overcoming their fear and helping others. 

I only hope my loved ones meet with such shining selflessness from strangers, should (heaven forbid) they ever be in need of it.

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