Bystander #One
Helpless...
How do you think I felt,
under the circumstances?
Couldn't you have done something?
Anything?
As I was saying, she was too far out there...
All I saw was a head bobbing by.
The torrent roared past,
drowned her words as it swept her along.
... There one second, gone the next;
There was nothing I or anyone could have done ...
~~~~~~
Onlooker #One
I'd heard there had been an accident
involving several vehicles in the topside world.
No... I wasn't a looky-loo.
I just happened to be there with a friend.
She came around the bend
and disappeared before we could react.
... I hear she was never found ...
~~~~~~
Witness #One
Are you telling me
people just stood and watched?
It all happened so fast.
I noticed a man pointing toward the river,
then I saw a tiny silhouette in the current.
I heard a woman's voice cry out.
Short of throwing myself in after her,
there was nothing I could do.
... I'm not that strong a swimmer ...
~~~~~~
Spectator #One
Oh, yah...
River's treacherous
this time of year.
Swallows somebody up
every so often,
Their mangled bodies found
downstream, just past the junction.
Watching...? No, sir. It's not a local pastime.
We're never surprised, though, when it happens.
... Yah. They should do something ...
~~~~~~
Observer #One
It's not the first time.
Wasn't there a guy just a few months ago?
It's a dangerous place, all right.
You'd think people would be more careful.
... But, what can you do? ...
~~~~~~
Earwitness #One
I wasn't there that night,
but I heard the car plunged into the river
at a hundred and twenty kilometres an hour.
She didn't even have her headlights on.
... Some people have no sense ...
YOU ARE READING
Express, baggage and all...
PoetryObjects in the mirror are closer than they appear... Just when you think you've put something behind you for good, you look back and find it trails you like your very own comet's tail, lighting a path through the dark. Reading through these pages...
