The Distress Flare

This free verse poem in sonnet form describes the events of one calm night in the Coral Sea aboard ‘Chengtu’.

Listen to: The Distress Flare

I'd never seen a brighter, more flawless sky,
until that cloudless night at sea revealed
its host of glimmering, embroidered stars
above a moonlit sea of sapphires.

When a fiery red and silver flare
flew skyward, and like poor Pheidippides
arrived from ancient Athens’ Marathon,
fulfilled its purpose, and exhausted died.

Roused into action by the soaring flare,
I altered course, and in our searchlight’s
probing beam, I saw a fishing boat adrift,
her crew near death from days without water.

They had but one such flare to send aloft,
and wept to know that one had saved their lives.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Well done for spotting it. I'm sure you were and still are proud that you saved lives that night.
28/10/2024, 08:44
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