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April 14th
At 11:40pm on this day in 1912, the Titanic fatally struck an iceberg and began to sink.
During the early hours of the 15th, it broke in two, and both pieces slipped under the surface.
The most poetic words about the sinking that I have ever heard (and do not get to hear enough) was spoken by the actor John Colicos in the episode, "Lone Survivor," of Rod Serling's Night Gallery. I first heard it in the summer of 1972 and was haunted by both the poetry (yes, even in a television script), and Colicos' recitation of it. Although the ship's break-apart, near just before the plunge, was not then known (or even suspected), the poem is still chillingly effective---especially when it describes the night's stars, and the silence after all the screaming had stopped.
Although I have seen the three most classic films (and my favorite is the 1953 version), I still believe that Serling's elegy remains the supreme description of an experience that few of us will ever be able to fully imagine.
I hope I am able to stay up late enough tonight to listen, at the appropriate time, a rendition of "Nearer My God To Thee" at the appropriate time tonight and tomorrow morning.
Starward
Yes, a momentous moment in
Yes, a momentous moment in history and many a young person's lives. It's quite a curious thing how such epic events draw the mind and the imagination. Also remembering other intense moments, fictive or historical and sometimes even a mixture of both: the Poseidon Adventure, the Andrea Doria, the Lusitania, far too many maritime disasters; Pompeii, Vesuvius, Krakatoa, naming a few tumultuous eruptions; and quite so many many more.
here is poetry that doesn't always conform
galateus, arkayye, arqios,arquious, crypticbard, excalibard, wordweaver
Thank you, and you are
Thank you, and you are exactly right!
Starward