ELEGIAC BALLAD OF EMILIANO SALA

Emiliano Sala
Across the channel flew
To change his green and yellow kit
For Cardiff's white and blue.

The winter sun shone down on Nantes,
As with a wave and bow,
He bade his team-mates and the fans
Goodbye—la ultima ciao.
The dark blue sea, the rough white surf,
Those are his colours now.

Once he was sprinting down the field
With every eye on him;
Now helicopters search in vain
As winter light grows dim.

Once he would tackle, strike and score
To stadium-stunning cheers,
But now waves roar above his head
And he no longer hears.

His keen sharp eye, his fit brown limbs
That had such strength and skills,
The careless ocean has in hand
And tosses as it wills.

Just when we think the game is ours,
The future fair and rich,
Then tyrant Death his whistle blows
And sends us off the pitch.

© Thomas Tyrrell

Cardiff City's Sala confirmed as being on board missing flight

Thomas Tyrrell holds a PhD in English Literature and fills his ample spare time by writing pirate ballads, nature poems and sonnets. A two-time winner of the poetry prize at the Terry Hetherington Award, his work is published in Allegro Poetry, The Lake, Picaroon, Three Drops from a Cauldron and Spectral Realms, among many others.

That Was the MUSE That Was

THE MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON

The geese fly high above the Hudson,
the planes fly higher yet,
and very seldom meet, for what
has bird to do with jet?

In January 2009
a plane was scheduled to fly
to Charlotte, North Carolina
from La Guardia, NY.

And now the gate is being called,
now boarding is complete,
and Chesley Sullenburger III
sits in the captain’s seat.

And passengers and crew give thanks
when they kneel down to pray,
that Chesley Sullenburger III
was aboard the plane that day.

For only seconds after take-off,
they hit a flock of geese.
Three thousand feet up in the air,
both of the engines cease.

He said “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”
We’ve both our engines gone.
I don’t think we can reach the airport,
and we can’t stay up for long.”

They cleared a runway at La Guardia
and at Tetboro too,
but there was no time left to reach them,
as Captain Sully knew.

He weighed the risks and made his choice,
he didn’t freeze or quiver,
but told them in a calm clear voice
“We’re ditching in the river.”

And in the back the cabin crew
were shouting “Brace! Brace! Brace!”
while the captain made his final approach
with a firm and fearless face.

And while the airport staff were asking
just what the hell was going on,
the Airbus A320
was landing like a swan.

© Thomas Tyrrell

New York plane crash: Profile of Captain Chesley B Sullenberger III

Thomas Tyrrell has a PhD in English Literature from Cardiff University. He is a two-time winner of the Terry Hetherington poetry award, and his writing has appeared in Picaroon, Amaryllis, Wales Arts Review, Spectral Realms, Lonesome October, The Road Less Travelled, Three Drops From A Cauldron and Words for the Wild.