Air Raid Sirens. A poem by Michael Roque

Posted bydarcie friesen hossackPosted inPoetryTags:

Michael Roque

Air Raid Sirens

During a 60-second air raid siren-
Pompeii becomes the norm of society.
With an eruption,
fire flashes across the sky,
bringing shopping bags to concrete,
crawling traffic to stop
and bustling streets to be abandoned for shelters,
where huddling neighbors meet.
boom-
BOom-
BOOM!
Up above.

During a 60-second air raid siren-
people left outside lie flat on the ground,
while the foundation of the city shakes.
A life of a million sounds
is replaced with a single song
sung by Chaos
with a chorus of booms, 
distant and closing in-
boom-
BOom-
BOOM!

Following a 60-second air raid siren-
someone lies entombed 
beneath a ceiling that failed to secure them-
A household of memories ripped apart,
while all else embrace silence and relief 
in the hours until the eruptions restart-
until again faced with Pompeii-
air raid sirens, 
bigger booms, hopes and racing hearts.

Return to Journal

Michael Roque, a Los Angeles native, now residing in the Middle East, embarked on his writing odyssey amidst the bleachers of Pasadena City College. His literary voyage has traversed continents, gracing the pages of esteemed publications such as Aurora Quarterly, Veridian Review, and CascadeJournal. 

Published by darcie friesen hossack

Darcie Friesen Hossack is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers. Her short story collection, Mennonites Don’t Dance, was a runner-up for the Danuta Gleed Award, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for Adult Fiction. Citing irreverence, the book was banned by the LaCrete Public Library in Northern Alberta. Having mentored with Giller finalists Sandra Birdsell (The Russlander) and Gail Anderson Dargatz (Spawning Grounds, The Cure for Death by Lightening), Darcie's first novel, Stillwater, will be released in the spring of 2023. Darcie is also a four time judge of the Whistler Independent Book Awards, and a career food writer. She lives in Northern Alberta, Canada, with her husband, international award-winning chef, Dean Hossack.

One thought on “Air Raid Sirens. A poem by Michael Roque”

  1. Pingback: Autumn 2024 WCLJ Table of Contents – WordCityLit

Leave a comment