Sonnet

On the disaster at Aberfan, Glamorgan,

21st October 1966

 

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Lost, now, the laughter-days, death is the smear
That soils the tragic village with a stain
Stilling the sweet child-voices, spilling fear
To pierce the waiting mothers' hearts with pain.
Death lurched, suddenly, from the hill high-piled
In slithering mounds of man-erupted waste;
Grief is the crying of a dying child
As frantic hands delve deep in frightened haste.
The valley mourns and there is no tomorrow
Of dancing feet and voices raised in play,
Theirs but a shroud to share, of sorrow,
A tear to shed remembering today.
God, is this part of your Almighty Plan -
The silence in the homes of Aberfan ?


 

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My late father, Namur King, was born & brought up in Blackwood, Pontllanfraith. Though he later moved away from Wales, it never left his heart. I was only a child at the time he wrote this powerful piece on the day of the disaster at Aberfan.

 

Also by Namur King -

 Remembrance Day

Brick Horizons

Hiraeth

Today has never been before

"Goldie', the Golden Eagle escapes

***

Another Disaster: Haiti

 

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