Sunday, October 20, 2013

Day 15--The News Muse

CNN Breaking News@cnnbrk 15h
Violin played as Titanic sank sells for $1.7 million.

He was a musician
So of course it was
his most prized possession.
If he was going down the ship,
It was going with him,
So they went into the cold water together,
And that's how they were found.

They had stood steadfastly on the deck.
Playing until the waters were too high
The slope of the deck too great.
Not one of the band survived.

When it was over
The White Star Line claimed
They were passengers not crew.
And their management company said,
"Not our problem"
And billed their families
For their uniforms.

Salt water corroded the metal
So it could not be played.
(And who would have the nerve try?).

It sold for as much as a Strad.




The challenge for day 15 was to draw a poem from the news, like John Lennon did in "A Day in the Life". All week I read through the paper and the Internet seeking inspiration, till I found this. To see what inspired other poets, click here.

6 comments:

  1. Nice, Meg. I like that you waited for something you felt was inspirational. A favorite line: "They had stood steadfastly on the deck.
    Playing until the waters were too high" My mind's eye saw them playing, trying to keep the passengers calm.

    Thank you. xoA

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    1. Thank you for the kind words. I actually went back and read the chapter on the musicians in Walter Lord's The Night Lives On. He went into detail about the various mistreatments of the musicians and their families. After reading about families being billed for a few pounds of expenses it staggers the mind to think what the violin has sold for.

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  2. The violin worth more then the lives of those whose families were billed for uniforms! Staggering. Really loved that you waited. X

    http://shahscribbles.wordpress.com/

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    1. I know Shah, the ironies are almost overwhelming aren't they? It's like watching a Van Gogh painting sell for 80 million dollars when the poor man only sold one in his lifetime for 400 francs,

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  3. Its so painful.."And their management company said,
    "Not our problem"
    And billed their families
    For their uniforms." ....

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    1. Working conditions for musicians have gotten a little better since then.....but we see similar heartlessness all the time, don't we?

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