Tsunami
A word of which I’ve rarely heard
Has happened half-way round my world
'Twixt Christmas and the coming year
The news comes through of terror and fear
Deep within the ocean bed
A mass of water formed overhead
Speeding fast toward civilization
Threatening people from many a nation
A Tsunami has struck with a sickening force
Bringing loss of life, home, wealth, in its course
Now our world-wide communications
Bring pictures and 24-hour information
Buried in mud, the numbers growing
The missing, the grief and pain clearly showing
Our stunned reaction - incomprehension
Begins to flow into necessary action
Donations of money, of aid of prayer
Volunteer agencies gathering there
Doctors and medicine, water and food
Shelter and comfort for the common good
The might of the military, the will of the nations
Is finally translated into life preservation
Instead of dropping bombs upon one another
We at last realise we are sister and brother
Tell me, why oh why does it need such a loss?
- It makes me feel angry, incredibly cross -
That it takes such tragedy, for the realisation
That we’re a worldwide family, the whole of creation
Time will go by and our memories will fade
While others face a future in need of our aid
Who is my neighbour, for whom should I care?
It’s the one that is seated in the very next chair.
This is the poem I wrote five years ago following the Tsunami in the Indian Ocean
Copyright © Anne Linington | Year Posted 2009
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