Reliving Flights (From Hospital) Poem by NORMAN ROSS

I
Recall love, Recall hate,
Recall palm trees, pine trees, oaks.
Recall fate.

Recall dreams,
Recall fears,
Recall oceans, rivers, lakes;
Recall tears.

Dry them, the all consuming oceans,
The rivers
The lakes.
Dry the seas of tears.
Suck them up through parched lips
Quench the overwhelming thirst-or die!

II
Recall desire,
Recall lust,
Recall friends, enemies, fleeting acquaintances,
Recall dust.

Recall dark, Recall light,
Recall purple hills, mountains, jagged rocks-
Recall night.
Thunderous rain!
Silent snow!
Deep, misty fog!
Gray, shadowy dusk!
(Recall these)

III
Over bottomless chasms,
Still, soundless villages,
Sleepless cities and sandless deserts-
Over the steaming jungle's bomb-sprayed beaches.

Over hills, perilous mountains,
Parched fields, fruitless harvests.
Over rotted, rusted ships beneath the
channels
And white-stoned graves and crosses
Row on row.

Recall the birth of life!
Recall the advent of Death!
Recall a mother's womb.
Recall the final breath.