Chile's Miracle Poem by chandra thiagarajan

CHILE'S MIRACLE


Miners thirty three, descended the mine,
In the Chilean Atacama desert at San Jose,
To fetch copper and gold so fine,
And to the occasion they happily rose.

In the bowels of the earth 700 metres below,
Lo! They were pinned half a mile underground,
And a rock of 70000 tonne gave them a blow,
Crashing on their tunnel with a huge sound.

The tunnel bore the brunt and kept them alive,
They were utterly scared; it was humid and hot;
On one half a spoon of salmon they did survive,
In the dark, only their helmet lights were their lot.

Despair and anguish gripped the men to pine,
They were trapped in a dark dank space;
Seventeen days passed on with no sign
Of contact with the world and human race.

In their desolate bleak cloud of isolation,
There came a streak of silver lining;
A tube they espied with tablets of dehydration,
Protein and high -calorie food for their dining.


Hope bloomed in the miners' hearts,
They endured days -on with solidarity,
The measly food were their delicious tarts,
They waited with fortitude and equanimity,


Up above, the entire world was in piquancy,
And an array of international talent played,
The Chilean Govt: , NASA, Japan's Space Agency,
And other companies, score, with them stayed.

The rescuers were in a hard torturous fix,
As expertise converged for the complex rescue,
It was a narrow twisting escape shaft-the Phoenix_
Painted as the Chilean flag, red, white and blue.

"Miners of Chile"_the refrain continuously echoed,
The world watched with bated breath, the cage,
Secular prayers from every country showed,
That the world was one large Global village.

The evacuation started- descended the capsule,
Kith and kin awaited in ‘Camp Hope"dazzled
Down there, the miners were calm and cool,
But on top, the mood was with nerves frazzled.

One by one the miners were arduously lifted,
Through the phoenix- like the bird's re-birth;
Taking 48 hours for all of them to be gifted,
Oh! The joy knew no bounds at their re-birth.

The last man Luis Urzua came up from hell,
The leader, who kept the miners all to-gether;
Not only the man who bore the ordeal well,
But the one who superbly coped with the weather.

The whole world with euphoria heaved a sigh,
As all the miners were safe and sound -back,
This ‘rescue mission' had indeed relieved, high,
Thanks to modern day technology's track!

This episode elaborates with magnificence,
How very dear and precious human lives are,
The Chilean Premier spent with munificence,
Subtly ventilating an end to terrorism and war.

Triumph of a never-say-die sprit, pure,
Designates this unique incident, so heartening;
Prayers to the Almighty are answered for sure,
Where all hearts in unison are imploring.