Little Girl Lost But Never Forgotten


On the Merrimac River
One spring day
The sun was shining
The children at play
Current outbound
Running
Its usual 8 to 10 knots.
Sand spit fingers reaching to mouths river depths
Lawn chairs and sunbathers taking their rest
Little girl, 9 year old little girl
Swept away by the fast running currents that day
*SAR alarm rings and were put into action
Motor's fired up without distraction
All boats converge first to north jetty
Then all boats converged to the south
For that is the way the current runs out
44 footer and at my post
Well deck with heaving line ready to throw
Surf watches astern cause we were in the breakers
Little blond girl in the arms of heavens maker
Searching the surf at the jetty's end
Spotting blond hair bobbing on end

"Starboard side 100 feet!"
I yell
"Starboard side 100 Feet"
Partner on watch at port
"15 footer building off port quarter stern!"
The boat whips about bow into the fray
Port and I covered in spray
"Come about, She's right there!"
But the oceans a Bitch and she don't care
Wave after wave pounded us that day
While that little girl died and floated away
We searched all day and into the night
But we knew she had sadly lost her fight
They call it PTSD
Because I see that blond hair bobbing
That wispy blond, 9 year old hair bobbing
In the surf, and mother crying on the beach.
In waking hours, in times of duress
In this and other's I must confess
She never leaves my mind





Poetry by W. Burkholder
Read 614 times
Written on 2007-03-05 at 19:33

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