In October 1963 in Singapore I was too slow to stop a fatal motor accident and a little girl died. I spent months involved in the Indonesian Confrontation, an undeclared war, along the shores and mangrove swamps of Sabah, Borneo. I am still troubled by dreams they have nothing to do with conflict. It is a nightmare where a child died.
R.I.P. Little Girl
Ghost of a Tamil Girl
The Tamil Girl died in my grasp
Though not a word was said
I hold her still though I’m now old
– Sad memories in my head –
I held her dying on that day
I’d tried to save her life
As Death will have the final say
My soul’s now torn by strife
For, “If only”, “Oh, If only…”
Repeat around my brain
In a soul now sad and lonely
I bear this bitter stain
Oh, if only I had stopped her
Running into the road
My conscience feels like I’m a cur
I’ve had to bear that load
For on the day that She had died
My actions were too slow
Time and again I’ve sobbed and cried
About that fatal blow
“Watch out” I’d said – not in her tongue
She’d run out all the same
I’ve never heard her requiem sung
And never knew her name
I’d fetched her from that roadside there
Placed her before her folk
But I still carry so much care
It makes me almost choke
And now at night deep in my sleep
In dreams I meet this child
And she looks sad if I should weep
Her ghost’s serene and mild
Are souls of those who have died young
Like angels of the Lord
And in our dreams are we among
A sort of heavenly horde?
Are we shown glimpses of a place
Beyond the void of Hate
Where there may be a state of Grace
Beyond the grasp of Fate
The Dead who flit about our dreams
May help us in our woe
They’re not as real as waking schemes
Yet bring a gentle glow
Through sorrows we may face each blight
Protected by their charm
These dead who visit in the night
May guard the mind from harm
© Trevor Morgan 18 April 2004 amended 2012