The Wreckers: A Poem By Pete Marshall

The Wreckers:

 A Poem By Pete Marshall

The bells would chime as lowered heads

Would march in line to pay their debts

But coppers weighed on ravaged hands

As wolves would bay in greedy clans

And nights would close on darkened rooms

Where paths were chose that led to doom

And on the beach from tunnels deep

The ships would breach as wreckers meet

Amongst the brine the cries of men

That took to crime to feed their bairns

Whilst sailors drowned in torrid seas

And booty found beseeched by pleas

They climbed the rocks and journeyed home

As hope would mock their tired bones

But death would lay upon the cliffs

When state would claim their laden gifts

******************

You might or might not know but a lot of my poetry has been inspired by my experiences with being unemployed? I have written a series on this which can be viewed on the following link, My Struggle With Unemployment.

The above piece came about by the thought of how far you would go to feed your family when faced with mounting debts & hard times. I then began to think back to a time so much different from the one we live in but when these problems were just as rife. The wreckers tells a tale of a village whose men paid the ultimate price.

If unemployment has affected you in any way, if you would like to talk about it, share your experiences, then I am willing to hear. You can leave a comment or email me.

Regards Pete

***********

image courtesy creative commons flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/cpieters/