When on 16 April 2014 Sewol, the South Korean boat,
Was sinking with 476 passengers on board
Frigid water filling up its hold
And the crew with its captain fled
Betraying all the hopes of the passengers
There appeared a courageous woman head
Rising to the occasion, raring to go ahead;
22 year old young Park Ji-young, a café worker
Took the lead in helping children and half-dead sea farers
Supplying them with life jackets, courage and burning hope
Keeping not a single jacket for her to elope
Promising not to leave till a single of them remained.
Many were saved but she was drowned.
Among the dead by the divers her body was found,
Buried in chill watery ground.
A savior of mankind, entirely humane
Igniter of the sacrificial fire
With the fire glowing within her;
Inspired by the Divine will and bliss
She lives in man’s heart for her selfless sacrifice.
~Aju Mukhopadhyay
Pondicherry, India