THE DYING MINER
by Frank Seddon
 
Above- 'phones ring, and no one smiles.
Ambulance men just sit and wait,
The boss is pale who scans the files
And wonders, is the help to late?
Identified with home place known.
'He mouths the message he must send
Sat in his office all alone
But in the drama to the end.
Below- a miner wonders why
He feels no pain and voices are so low?
The stones that crushed, around him lie.
Conveyers still, he wonders, must they go?
And weary now, with shouting stopped,
Recalls the sounds of clanging spade
When the roof and girders dropped.
And lifted, not a sound was made,
He looks and sees his Clothes are turning red.
Feeling a comfort where he's laid,
Weakening, he hungers for his bed.
Around him all the faces fade
And he wonders what it's all about,
As the lights around are slowly dying out.
 
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