A Survivor's Story
I wake up to a deserted town
"Where are the people?"
I ask myself aloud.
"Gone." answers a voice.
But no one's here...
but me.
Broken glass litters the street,
a Kristallnacht in the making.
Houses, half gone and half standing,
specked the dirt road.
I lay, pinned to the ground by a monstrous wall...
I don't know if I'll be able to move...
but I must try.
"Hello! Anyone there?"
No reply.... just what I thought.
As distress fills my heart,
I use that anger and helpless feeling to my advantage
and somehow
I managed to lift the heavy burden off my chest.
But this was a small victory in what seemed to be WW II.
ALAS! I remember.
This is WW II....
and the US had just dropped something...
something unusual on my town...
I'm surprised I'm still alive.
The explosion was enough to kill all of my native land,
Japan.
But it only stopped 2 miles from the heart of my country,
Tokyo.
But no time for reminiscing.
I must find a way out of this...
hell.
A sharp pain in my chest heaves me to the ground,
I've seen this ground so many times, face to face.
Something starts to lunge itself out of my mouth.
When I look down, I notice
that it is my own blood.
I knew I must find a hospital, quick,
but which way was which?
Was East West? Was West South?
Was North behind me? Was South ahead?
I sulked in defeat as I trudged along a snake-like road...
a road to nowhere.
I grew weary, hungry, tired
but I knew I must walk on.
Every few minutes, I'll drop to my knees
and cough up my life support,
but I couldn't let that stop me.
The sun went down,
but I didn't.
The moon rose,
I kept walking.
The sun started his day-shift,
but I was at work all night,
counting steps and listening my heart beat.
Finally, I lost the will to live,
I wanted to die,
I waited to die...
But death didn't come.
I spit up blood every few seconds now.
Life leaving me with every breath.
I close my eyes, and draw in my last breath.
Muffled sounds reach my ears.....
I try to look but my vision's blurred.
Everything blacks out.
"I will not be defeated"
My vision is back.... I see people...
Everything blacks out.
"I will not be defeated"
I see their faces now, splattered with dirt and dust
Everything blacks out.
"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!!!!!"
I CAN SEE!
"Are you with us?!"
A desperate cry reaches my ears.
And I reply,
"Yes. Yes I am."
Copyright © Hosea Griffith | Year Posted 2011
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem.
Please
Login
to post a comment