(x = space)

x

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Many Deaths in India All at Once

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The electric signals

For the trains

Went wrong

Crash

Crash

Crash

Who knows how many times

And many died

And this means hundreds

Hundreds of people died

Because of this

And we who were not there

Will wonder briefly

About trains

Except we’ll keep them

And make more

Like bullets

That carry us

From guns

Which is fine

Trains are better for us

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Pages and pages

Filled

All the names of the dead

How many names

Did each one carry

I have three

And you

And I’m still here

We are here

I’m dancing ‘round

The tragedy

Because I can’t make the math

Turn into people

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I saw one photograph

Tracks and smoke

The right side went dark

There were the bodies

I suppose

Parts of trains

Yes

But unmechanical

Blood and organs

Separated flesh

With all the spirits gone

Released by death

In horror

Nothing like timorous gentility

In age or temerity

Of faith

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What time for prayer

Seconds to turn

And turn

And turn

Challenge to our consciousness

Our bodies thrown

Moments of discomfort

Injury

Where are our own

Then silence

Even while

The fire of earth

Rage on

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And we shall rage

And wonder

About planners

Admin. Folk

Even inventors

And

Yes

We have logistics

Everything to deal with

After

Which is us

And now

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We’ll keep ourselves

We’ll try to keep the earth

And these

Close by

Until way over here

By tomorrow

Maybe tomorrow

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One life

Let’s save one life

Over this

Then do that

Hundreds of times

Everyone

Everywhere

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C L Couch

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Despair and Anguish Stalk Hospitals as India Reels from Devastating Train Crash

Story by Ivan Watson • 2h ago

(CNN)

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‘I Am Haunted by It’: Survivors of Deadly Train Crash in India Recount Trauma

by Krutika Pathis and Rish Lekhi

5 June 2023, 6:29 a.m.

(Time)

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Photo by Ashwini Chaudhary(Monty) on Unsplash

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