A Fateful Night

A shutter from the ship
Life vests are thrown on over our warmest clothes
Rushed out on deck, my sister holding her doll
Outside, there’s panic, chaos, and crowding
I get separated from everyone, except my sister
She starts to cry, I start to lose it
“Get on lifeboats,” I hear people say
I run, carrying my sister, looking for family
There! In a lifeboat. Being lowered into a waiting abyss
I can’t reach them so I get in a different lifeboat
My sister still holding her doll, I holding her
It’s much colder here, surrounded by strangers
We hold each other, my sister and I
How long has it been? My sister asks
Her innocent eyes looking into mine
Hours, I know. Many hours
The ship is gone, the people aboard as well
The screaming has stopped, now just silence
A person on our boat has died
We push her down into the boat
One takes her life jacket, another her coat
My sister becomes increasingly quieter
I keep holding her, keeping her warm
Some lights appear in the distance
As we row closer, we notice a ship
We get heir attention, they pull us up
They put the dead in one corner
And give us warm food and blankets
I feed my sister, she seems in shock
Still holing her little doll, wrapped up in blankets
Haven’t seen our family yet, no one seems to know
We give our names to someone, he hasn’t seen our family
In America, we look on lists and watch the dead coming in
And now we wait, for someone, anyone, to help us
We still wait, until someone notices us, for us to leave the docks
Yes, I still remember that night. Years have gone.
My sister still can’t, or doesn’t speak, I still can’t forget
The fated night on Titanic