Flying In. Poem by Michael Walker

It was early afternoon on 9 December
when White Island's volcano erupted,
fatally for tourists on the cruise ship
'Ovation of the Seas'.
Some had gone ashore to look around.
Ten minutes after the eruption
a Rotorua helicopter pilot
was radioed about the disaster
and he decided on the spot
to fly there and touch down
on the crater floor,
where he saw victims dead and dying.

He carried two survivors
to his assured blue helicopter and lift-off
to the cool mainland.
Heairlifted people to Rotorua hospital
the day before before emergency services
even arrived on White Island.
The pilot took a risk:
'There was no time for second-guessing
or pulling the rule book out, 'he said.



-18/19 December 2019.