NUMBER FIVE

things go awry ... worse comes to worst ... the debate ensues .. what gets forgotten? ... what always gets forgotten.

Bleached and stiffened

by salt sea air and relentless sun

a leathery work glove bobs …

strafed by gulls

nibbled at by inquisitive fish

bobbing to the rhythm of

roiling currents far below.

A sea gull is perched preening

floating aimlessly on gentle seas.

Preserved within, a gloved finger,

just the tip with coarse nail

pickled by sea salt and sun,

last remnants of NUMBER FIVE

of the FORGOTTEN ELEVEN,

those who never saw the clean-up

never heard the debate

only heard a siren,

and never had a chance.

Reviews

[Liza]

a tribute to the forgotten - you shine bright when you write about these realities...

[PadfootBlack]

Damn good piece. Chilling, giving off a false peaceful impression, though something darker was underneath. Love it.

[jenniewren (J.W. Bouwma..]

a grisly (yet not needlessly so) piece. it spraks so many thoughts - and while it may have been written regarding something specific, so many other instances where this would apply, so painfully, sprang to mind

this one is a haunter, i think...

[manchilld99]

Mope, this refers to the oil rig workers who were killed in the explosion, people now forgotten as we now look for a cleanup, a scapegoat, the new politics of energy. I have revised this a bit.

[mope]

I don't know if this refers to a particular incident but I like it anyway - it paints a very chilling picture.