Lampedusa
I know this is risky and that I will probably lose the boat, but the shipwrecked on board are exhausted, I will bring them to safety.
Video released by Sea-Watch, Guardian
For the 43 souls waiting
in the port; for lampas
the torch, the light
on an island that should
never be hid; for the wall
that should never be raised;
for the door of Europe
that should never be closed.
For the shipwreck of 2013;
for the 350 and more who
perished; for the nameless
that didn’t make it; for
the woman found washed
ashore hugging her baby;
for those who still make
the journey; for those
who fall prey to agents
of Charon – sons of the night.
For the fear of persecution;
for the darkness of torture,
wars and more wars, hunger
for a better life; for the shadow
always following the light;
for being limbus on the edge;
for boats that taxi those
from the borders of hell;
for 14 days in limbo
the abode of the unwanted;
for Carola Rackete who
saw the light in the shadow
of humanity; for erasing
imagined lines in the sea;
for breaking rules to save
lives. For more safe harbours.
For the saving of lives.
For hope. For the 43 souls
waiting, waiting, waiting.
Roy McFarlane is a Poet, Playwright and former Youth & Community Worker born in Birmingham of Jamaican parentage. He’s the Canal Laureate and former Birmingham Poet Laureate. His debut collection, Beginning With Your Last Breath, was followed by The Healing Next Time, (Nine Arches Press 2018) nominated for the Ted Hughes award and Jhalak Prize. His third collection Living by Troubled Waters will be coming out in October 2022.