About Me

My photo
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, now living in Cheshire, England. I started to write poetry some years ago, as a hobby. I have enjoyed that new venture very much. My preferences are for long and micro-form poetry styles. A first book of poetry ~ Reason Without Rhyme, was published in December 2013. A second book ~ Fifty Seven Pebbles, was published in September 2015...I am presently compiling the content for my third book. Thank you for visiting my Blog... COPYRIGHT: The entire copyright and content of this Blog belongs to the author Eileen T O'Neill. Nothing should be copied, reproduced or hosted as per RSS feed by any other party. {This particularly applies to the USA company Feedspot.com}

Thursday 4 December 2014

Deathly Silence....



The October* night was dank and dark,
My footsteps clung to wet pavements.
The road to home was a weary walk,
A city centre deserted in nervousness.
Uncertainty prowled around all corners,
Randomness was the motive of choice.
Madmen and mad people loved murder,
Belfast was gripped within this evilness.
In an unforgettable instant death lurked,
The night exploded all around and about.
Layers of orange light enveloped the area,
Silence locked down thoughts of life itself.
Fine glittering fragments cascaded down,
An open bible fluttered on the wet footpath.
Its owner rushed to seek comfort from me,
Assuming this hellish scene was not heaven.
The grim realities of wishful ideologies tolled,
A premature detonation killed three cowards.
Their deed undone by bravado and bad timing,
Actions remembered in the statistics of history.
Excuses mimicked as passionate causes to repair,
Innocent victims fell wherever luck had led them.
Memories will forever rest upon that happening,
Heroes and cowards separated by conscious acts.

©Copyright Eileen T O’Neill 03/12/2014
Poets United Mid-Week Motif: ‘ A Date that will Live in Infamy, or A Bomb of a Day.’

*Saturday 16 October 1976
Three members of the IRA were killed when a bomb they were planting exploded prematurely at Belfast Gas Works, Ormeau Road, Belfast.



6 comments:

  1. Eileen, what a harrowing thing to experience. I love the strength and power in your closing lines.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pow! You made this so vivid in orange light!
    I especially like:

    "An open bible fluttered on the wet footpath.
    Its owner rushed to seek comfort from me,
    Assuming this hellish scene was not heaven."

    It's never heaven when explosives are involved.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That must have been such a horrible time for you, Eileen. You wrote it SO very vividly. I can understand why this would live on in your mind. I am glad that things have settled down there now!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Powerful and insightful writing, but so many of us are poor at learning our lessons and don't pay attention in class.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a night to remember, I hope to never experience such a thing. You so vividly expressed it, well written.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Intense and powerful - you have drawn many haunting images here that reverberate like a blast out of nowhere.

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate visits to this Blog and any comments left. I shall always endeavour to reciprocate. Thank you, Eileen