Plan B
They did not rest
On the seventh day
But worked to create
More possibilities
And to give hope
Their drills
Snaked through the rocks
In eight directions
Searching for signs
Of life
And then suddenly
On the seventeenth day
They heard them
Those faint taps
In the depths
And so carefully
They drilled inch by inch
Deeper and deeper
Until as they had hoped
They found their image
Their first human face
Was on their monitor
Their first minero
Was alive
And waiting
-
gw2010
Like many millions around the world I watched with awe as events unfolded on TV and the 33 miners at the San Jose´ Copper Mine in the Chilean Desert were winched up from the depths. I was particularly interested in the rescue attempt as I come from a mining family. Both my grandfathers were miners. One mined in the Welsh Mountains for slate and the other under the North Sea for coal. The TV transmissions from Chile are said to have had as many or perhaps even more viewers than the first manned moon landing. We are all in search of real heroes. Today we saw them!
The title of the poem comes from the fact that of the 3 rescue tunnels drilled simultaneously the first one to reach the underground chamber was called Plan B.
Great poem. I think one of the most memorable events with a good ending since the moon walk!
ReplyDeleteOh yes Gwilym, I agree - I have been glued to the television and also in tears most of the time. It is one of the really good things to come out of the media - we really felt we were there sharing in the joy.
ReplyDeleteExcellent work. And what I really liked was that you chose to only write about part of the process, the finding. I think a poem covering the whole process would not work - it would have to be an epic.
ReplyDelete