Titanic

Hello and welcome to Friday. I am having an uncomfortably busy day. However, the bulk of the busyness seems to be over finally. But not before I share a piece of writing with you all. While I have been busy these days, I have had time to watch some TV. One thing I have had recorded on the box for ages and haven’t gotten around to watching is the BBC docuseries Titanic Sinks Tonight. It is a series that dramatizes the sinking of the Titanic, using firsthand accounts from survivors as monologues performed by actors. It is quite something.

One thing that is well documented is how unorganized the Titanic was for such a scenario. Seeing the scramble the passengers had to endure to get on a lifeboat, and the “every man for himself” mentality that ensued, got me thinking about how we are all in this crazy world together, and we should all be kind to one another. There’s a Stoic idea called Sympatheia that highlights this. That’s what this poem is about.

Titanic

I watched on

From the comfort of my couch

They were actors

But their words were real

It must have been horrific

In the literal sense

Sometimes I feel like that

The impending doom

That something bad is going to happen

I don’t like that feeling

And I don’t like seeing others feel the same

Sympathy

That’s what that is

Empathy

That’s what that is too

Sympatheia:

“We are made for one another”

The Stoics said that

Some forgot that on that fateful night

As I sit and think

Like a tend to do

I can’t help but conjure up

Some of that impending doom

I scare myself

And I let others scare me too

Many days, I felt like I was sinking

Like the Titanic did do

But I’m not alone

I know that for sure

It’s that connectedness I feel

That makes me feel like that no more.

There’s a poem for you. I hope you liked it. Have a lovely weekend. Thank you for reading and for your time.