Raf Carrot Piercing Eyes: The Butcher's Bill Poem by Terence George Craddock
Raf Carrot Piercing Eyes: The Butcher's Bill
raw nerves flight check
fighter pilot bomber pilot
ate night vision carrots
keen youth
eyes piercing
death dicing
engine darkness
ignition rumbles
last flight checks
ice nerves
cold sweat
carrot eyes
an airfield
thundering
take off
at night
dawn hoping
to return
fighters
stretching
claws
bombers
overloaded
pregnant
with stack deadly
death silent waiting
bombs in belly
in English RAF darkness
different ace squadrons
preparing their takeoff
flying through night sky cloud soup is safer...
hit returning crashing into channel soup is safer...
nursing shot up bomber home crash landing is safer...
guns red roar raging
bombers fighters engaging
spectral tracer evading
alone wing fighter cover range denied
during last tense leg to mission targets
during straight dead maze bomb runs
who lives who dies in death skies...
flaming coffins hit torn burn falling...
spinning toward ground impacts dying dying dying...
butcher's bill postscript: death mist eerie days later
night script raid drama begins replay buzzing
minus ghost formation dead missing friends crews
in home English RAF darkness
different swarm ace squadrons
preparing wing prayer takeoffs...
pilots crews carrot sliced diced in cauldron stew
enter twilight zone loop nightmare aerial ballet
repeating every few days weather permitting...
chilling in night sky flight beauty countless stars
twinkle shine glory bright full moon is a delight
at night but full moon wolf moon terror serves...
steel teeth hunter not outlined pinned against sky hunted
full moon terror night sweats clenched teeth jaws horror eyes
bomber crew moon stalked straight line juicy prey flying...
why fly at night terror bright in bullseye target full moon
a bomber's moon politician's plot with a bright full moon
enabled bomber aircrews to easily find strike their targets...
full moon bright frozen in terror night stacked dice decks
allowed anti-aircraft guns to find spotlight target claw bombers
assisted enemy night fighters to find shred shoot down bombers...
light beam radar guided searchlights form cone brilliant
hornets nest in thick of it black flak stinging night fighters
moth Lancaster crew feels spectre icy eighth crewman fear...
German Luftwaffe British RAF loved a bomber' moon
civilians in cities from Coventry to Cologne soon learnt
to fear especially bright nights bringing death air raids...
Terence George Craddock (Afterglows Echoes Of Starlight)
Copyright © Terence George Craddock
Historical memory written from the inside, a war memorial traced in celestial-cerebral dome projection of edge-walking moments...collected for beauty's treasury, straight from horror-maw of screaming metal destiny.
P1 I did not think anyone would read this or understand the attempt to describe the psyche of trauma inflicted on pilots, following successive raids.
P2 The reason this poem has 3 differing extending versions, the effect of repeated bombing raid after bombing raid. You understood perfectly Denis. Thank you.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/3/2024 9:39:12 AM # 1.0.0.1119
The word 'ekphrasis' is fashionable in poetry writing workshops. It cannot begin to describe what you're doing in this poem.
P1 Sadly I applied twice in two consecutive years to get into a creative writing course at Canterbury University NZ. The lecturer thought not wanting to write kiwi trivia was a fault, I wanted to write universal themes applicable to all humanity.
P3 Canterbury University after completing courses on several major historical poetic movements and countries cultures, finally taught me to remain true and write myself.