Some dates
remain in mind for various reasons
Those of a personal nature more easily recalled
I remember a specific day for a scary episode
In fact, it was a terrifying event that took place
I was a nurse in a hospital outpatient’s clinic
The building was situated beside a courthouse
The city’s main prison was across the road
It was indeed a very volatile area of Belfast
That Wednesday had been as busy as any day
Late afternoon and preparing to finish work
There was a commotion outside the building
Endless bangs and uniformed people outside
It became clear that the noise was gunshots
My colleagues and I got down on the floor
It was a most intense period of absolute fear
We knew nothing about the circumstances
Gunfire followed by the screech of loud sirens
The building filled with police and soldiers
Searching and surrounding the outside area
It seemed like an eternity lying on the floor
I assumed that this might be the end of life
Petrified and nauseous I got back to my feet
We learned there had been a prison escape
Eight prisoners had escaped into parked cars
Outside the window where I had been working
A terrorist incident lost to the pages of history
It remains a day I will forever regard as my miracle
My unborn baby was also a survivor that day...
Those of a personal nature more easily recalled
I remember a specific day for a scary episode
In fact, it was a terrifying event that took place
I was a nurse in a hospital outpatient’s clinic
The building was situated beside a courthouse
The city’s main prison was across the road
It was indeed a very volatile area of Belfast
That Wednesday had been as busy as any day
Late afternoon and preparing to finish work
There was a commotion outside the building
Endless bangs and uniformed people outside
It became clear that the noise was gunshots
My colleagues and I got down on the floor
It was a most intense period of absolute fear
We knew nothing about the circumstances
Gunfire followed by the screech of loud sirens
The building filled with police and soldiers
Searching and surrounding the outside area
It seemed like an eternity lying on the floor
I assumed that this might be the end of life
Petrified and nauseous I got back to my feet
We learned there had been a prison escape
Eight prisoners had escaped into parked cars
Outside the window where I had been working
A terrorist incident lost to the pages of history
It remains a day I will forever regard as my miracle
My unborn baby was also a survivor that day...
Eileen
T O’Neill 15/05/2024
Oh my goodness, Eileen! An unforgettable time indeed. So glad you and your baby survived. Lost to the pages of history, but not to those who lived through it.
ReplyDeleteThe scary incident mentioned in the poem definitely speaks of a period in Ireland. Thank God both of you survived.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story! it's a great response to the prompt, and to think you had to live through it. (I'm so glad you and your baby were survivors!) I have not yet been close to terrorism or danger that felt life threatening, and I know millions of incidents never make it into the history books. You took me there. Bravo! Powerful writing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a story! It's a great response to the prompt, and a powerful rendering of how that incident washed over and through you. Thank God you went on to deliver a fine baby and to be here with us. I think the true history of a time would include many memories like this of events that have been overlooked by the "scholars."
ReplyDeleteThat was indeed a scary time, Eileen. In November 1980 I gave birth to my daughter in The Coombe in Dublin. I remember hearing about the violence happening not so far away over the border.
ReplyDeleteEileen, your poem leaves me breathless. I can only imagine what kind of fear you experienced on that day with gunshots outside the window where you had been working. This incident would definitely be one which would give a person nightmares for a long time to come. Glad both you and your (then unborn) baby survived!
ReplyDeleteSuch a vivid and personal memory - and that end line an absolute breath taker - Jae
ReplyDeleteSuch a vivid and personal memory and that last line an absolute breath taker - Jae
ReplyDeleteWow - This is so powerful to me. - I was in Warrington on 26Th February 1993 - When the IRA bomb went off killing 2 people. My wife and I were about 100 yards from the explosion . I can still remember the sound of the explosion, the shattering of the glass and the screams of the injured. We were walking towards the place where the explosion took place, another 5 minutes later and we would have been caught up in it. I was the grace of God that saved us that day. Thank you for this, and i pray that God heals all those memories.
ReplyDeleteAlan,
ReplyDeleteTruly dreadful times to have experienced.
I could have written about several horrible experiences along the same lines.
I too was caught in the aftermath of an explosion and have written about it. It seems surreal, but is a lifetime memory.
The world of today, seems equally frightening and scary.
I welcome the ability to express our memories, through writing and poetry.
Thank you for your profound comment at this poem...
Fabulous description and the last line of your unborn baby absolutely breathtaking
ReplyDeleteYou have saved the best for last, Eileen, giving us the happy ending to your ordeal. Living during a time and place where terror can be just around the corner, or in your case, just uder your window, must leave scars and wounds in the psyche. I pray for your healing and thank God for the grace that enabled you to survive with your daughter intact.
ReplyDelete