Tsunami? ? Poem by Sandra Martyres

He tickled my face with a feather
I smiled back
Lying blissfully on the sand
We were on our honeymoon
Sunbathing on the sea shore
Life seemed so wonderful
Too good to be true
I thought - if this is what
Marriage is all about
I should have married earlier
He seemed to read my thoughts
He moved closer to me
And brushed his lips on my forehead

Just as we were about to embrace
I felt the sand under me rumble
I shuddered and deftly turned the other side
Then the ground beside me opened
And swallowed him up
I screamed but no words would come
I tried to dig him out
But someone pulled me away
I have no idea what happened thereafter
I found myself in a hospital bed
With a bandaged head,
Heard people buzzing around and
Talking about a new Tsunami in muffled voices

Again, I tried to call out,
But I had lost my voice
All I wanted to know was
Whether they had been able to save
My beloved.
A kindly nurse bent over me and muttered
That the Almighty had been merciful
He had saved me from the earthquake
And the giant waves that followed it
I described my husband and
I asked if she had seen him
She did not reply
But from the look in her eyes
I knew the answer
I had lost my beloved to the
Wrath of the seas….


(This is not an autobiographical poem...it is the story of what happened to a dear friend)