13 August: Crossing the Deep

AI art: boat over-loaded with people crossing rough water of English Channel

An Elegy: Crossing the Deep

Their boat sank with its music.
Gone into
night’s dark yawn.
The sky blind and cold,
stars drowning the weary
who were rocked to sleep.

Some raced to the deep.
Faces and limbs
scattered and sinking,
mouths drinking up the sea.
And still it lingers, a singing,
a stillness of hymns,

on the floor of boundless sea
there in fathoms … sleep.


An elegy poem: Today, 6 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the English Channel, off the French coast. In total 62 men, women and children were rescued. Some artwork is created using Midjourney AI, and is identified as such in the ALT text or captioned. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.

20 responses to “13 August: Crossing the Deep”

  1. Depressing that des[ite tragedies like this are becomming more, not less, frequent.

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    1. are they? I have no idea.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. This is from one of our charities who monitor this:

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          1. The argument from the right here is “France is a safe country, so why do these people attempt to cross?”
            The retort is (I’ve heard a few times) the language. Migrants have a smattering of English, but no French. Obviously I’m being very general, here.
            But whatever, boats keep on coming. The mood in Britain is difficult to gauge. Our government talks big, but has actually allowed “legal” migration to increase. If you are a Russian oligarch, come on in…
            People’s views are mixed, I think. For sure this is against a backdrop where the state is shrinking, and people are already finding it difficult to get e.g. a doctor’s appointment, without additional pressure due to migration. But it feels the same old story – the fringes on either side are extremely vocal, and the rest of us are stuck in the middle.

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      2. Now that I find interesting because I assume that you read the newspaper. That would imply your national media isn’t covering this mass northerly migration.

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        1. yeah, I guess not so much… definitely not the biggest headlines!

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  2. My cousin in Sicily tells me this is a daily occurrence, something I would not ordinarily know about. It’s tragic and heartbreaking and goes by unnoticed. Thanks for this, Misky ❤︎
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/9/dozens-dead-after-boat-capsizes-off-tunisia-four-survivors-arrive-in-italy

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    1. It is. Here, too. See if you can this BBC article. It’s very interesting.

      Migrant boats in the Mediterranean: Why are so many people dying? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66478091

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      1. I’m having trouble liking these comments; you know what I mean.
        I was able to open the link. It’s horrific, truly.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Try this, which is posted through the browser rather than the WordPress app. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66478091

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  3. And once again, people and their lives become expendable pawns in a neverending game of power and money.

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    1. A tragic situation since the beginning of creation.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. Only one word comes to mind: evil.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Tragic. Tragic, too, is that so many people are indifferent to the plight of wandering immigrants.

    It is an old story.

    A boat carrying 937 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution was turned away from Havana, Cuba, on May 27, 1939. The ship sailed closer to Florida, hoping to disembark there, but it was not permitted to dock. Faced with no other options, the ship returned to Europe.

    254 later died as the Nazis swept through the continent. Mankind is not very kind.

    https://rolandyeomans.blogspot.com/2023/08/momento-mori.html

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    1. I think there was a movie about this called Voyage of the Damned.

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Your comments are always welcome