The Shadow of Tragedy

7/27/2019 The Shadow of Tragedy

1/5

1PISMP KS / PJ / BM 1 --- SEMESTER 1 ---

The Shadow of Tragedyby Ron Carnell

Night descends,

as the shadow of tragedycreeps again across the world.

There are no stars, no moon,

no beacons set to guide my steps,

and even the breeze

refuses to move

in the darkness of this night.

I feel the precipice drawing near.

I can sense its breath,

not as I sense a stirring wind,

but rather in the expansiveness

of the unknown depths

beyond its unseen edge.

One step. Two.

How many dare I blindly take?

Whispers float on stagnant currents,

a cacophony of dire Warnings,

without direction, without surcease.

"Too near," strains their aria,

"You move too near the edge."

They fear the precipice, and rightly so.

I risk not death,

which will come this night

whether I step or stay,


2/5


3/5


I grit my teeth, silently insisting,

I don't care, I don't care, I don't care,

Yesterday, I did,

tomorrow, I will again,

but this night I no longer do.

One step. Two.

If I fall, will the Warnings follow into Hell?

Another step becomes a half-step,

as I feel the jagged edge of Armageddon

prickle the sole of my foot.

Five bare toes dangle helplessly

over the outstretched hand of eternity.

The darkness is no less, the foreboding no more,

but still I lower myself to the ground.

The precipice caresses the back of my knees,

and my feet dangle into an abyss

I can sense but never see.

I remember to breath again.

The sound of my lungs seems deafening,

the Warnings finally fade into silence,

and sitting here makes me feel likea flitting speck in the eye of God.

All my certainties have long since

faded with the acrid smoke of tragedy,

like the illusions they always were.

There is too little justice, far too much hate,

and a thousand more Warnings every day of the year.


4/5


But not tonight.

Tonight, I will not care, will not fret,

will not plan, and I'll be damned if I'll listen

to cries of alarm and disquiet

that refuse to honor my quiet.

Yesterday, I listened.

Tomorrow, I will add my voice to theirs.

Tonight, the shadow of tragedy covers my world,

and I just want to sit on the edge of eternity

and dangle my feet into its void.

The shadow masquerading as night enfolds me,

and in her reflective embrace

I will find what comfort I can.

Yesterday, I cared,

tomorrow I will care again,

but tonight I will simply remember.

Abou t thePoem

As September 11 dawned in 2002, it seemed like everyone and his brother

wanted to use the notoriety of the day to further their own agenda. I'm sure each

felt their cause was just, their platform important, their arguments appropriate.

Some, I'm sure, were even right. But they were still wrong, in my opinion, to use

that first anniversary of the deaths of thousands for their own personal political or

social leverage. Those who died that day were more than just symbols. Theywere people, and I think they should be honored as people.

The pipTalk Forums are more politically bent than many, and last year, after

reading thread after thread on all we hadn't done, all we had done wrong, and all

we still had yet to do, I wrote this as my metaphoric answer to all the soap box

ministries. As the second anniversary of that sad day approaches, I would like to

again caution our world to guard against the exploitation of this tragedy, however

well intentioned. Some anniversaries should be always remembered, but never

celebrated.
http://www.netpoets.com/poems/america/0001044.htm#poemhttp://piptalk.com/http://piptalk.com/http://www.netpoets.com/poems/america/0001044.htm#poem


5/5


The Shadow of Tragedy

Documents

Transcript of The Shadow of Tragedy