TRAGIC Poem: Survivor, by Cami Rumble

Does he hear the lingering screams,
when he sits on the porch
and the wind ceases its sea-surge
amongst the fingered leaves—

Does he regret the strength
that pushed him to his feet
leaving sister, father, mother,
to walk his wounded days alone—

Does he wish he had instead
fallen to his side, rested
his cheek on searing stones,
and let the hot wind take him,

Unwind him and bind him
forever to that place—
does survival gleam
like the gold of fools—

In memory of the survivors of the 2019 Whakaari/White Island volcanic eruption