Detritus

I came across a poem I wrote after the floods here in Nottingham a few years agos and how I related the debris on a minor scale to the macro scale of the Thai tsunami. It still has relevance and resonance in the light of the Jananese tsunami. And if you feel moved there's a link to donate below.

Detritus

Last night I dreamt about the river breach
Branches washing in and out
Lapping against REM consciousness.

Holme Pierrepont was strictly no-go
But I climbed the fence
Fascinated by the graveyard of flotsam and jetsam

Broken trees threaded wire fencing
Abandoned trainers and empty containers
Littered the tide line like skin scum in a bath

Carp belly up swollen on the banks
Their pearly eyes opaque and glassy
The air heavy with the smell of putrefaction

I got to thinking about the Tsunami
And how it had undone so many
Some 275,000 bodies all washed up

The randomness of being in heaven
Then sweeping, swirling hell
A seismic shift in reality

Strange how your mind ebbs and flows
In the middle of the night
Washing up the detritus of memory.

To donate go to:
www.redcross.org.uk/JapanTsunami