Torn by the Sky

It was sunny the day our hearts broke away. A decade has passed—but some wounds ignore clocks. The news bloomed like bruises on a nation’s chest. Shoreham stood still. Time forgot how to move. Eleven men. Men of mornings and small routines. Lunchboxes. Laughter. Motorbikes. Some had children. Others were children—still. And one… one kept wildflowers on his phone. Too shy to say, “This made me think of you.” There’s no symmetry to this grief. It leans sideways and doesn’t apologise. It smells like engine oil and funeral flowers. It hums in the throat of widows and mothers, grows moss in the cracks of pub tables, clings to the wings of the plane that didn’t stop. Somewhere, a bottle of red remains uncorked. Somewhere, a bike rests against a wall no one will move. Somewhere, wildflowers still bloom— and someone remembers the man who loved flight, but stayed grounded for everyone but himself. Still. Author’s Note: For the eleven lives lost on 22 August 2015 at Shoreham: Dylan Archer, Richard Smith, James Mallinson, Mark Trussler, Matt Jones, Matthew Grimstone, Jacob Schilt, Daniele Polito, Tony Brightwell, Mark Reeves, Maurice Abrahams. You are remembered. Dear Editor, I won’t let you stand on my throat— Stifle my compassion, Weigh down my shoulders With a chip — not sweet like chocolate, But sharp like ice. Not from the old block, But cracked from the freeze You placed in my bones. You guillotine my fire And return me only grief. Dear Editor, I know your job is important— But is it louder than the truth That begs to be heard? Just because a stanza doesn’t touch you, Or it ends without rhyme or convention, Does that make it any less real? Dear Editor, Please see the substance beneath the design. We poets are crucified For daring to call out— For letting our voices Tremble, burn, and bleed. Dear Editor, I once wrote about loss So heavy, it cracked the sky. A plane fell — and a friend was gone. And I wrote it raw. And I sent it whole. And it came back with silence. Maybe the timing was wrong, But the pain was right. Dear Editor, I beseech you: Look into your heart, And look at the piece. Admire the craft, But let truth ring through. Then maybe more of the unheard, The undervalued, And the unpolished Will shine, too.