CHILE'S MIRACLE <br /> <br /> <br />Miners thirty three, descended the mine, <br /> In the Chilean Atacama desert at San Jose, <br />To fetch copper and gold so fine, <br /> And to the occasion they happily rose. <br /> <br />In the bowels of the earth 700 metres below, <br /> Lo! They were pinned half a mile underground, <br />And a rock of 70000 tonne gave them a blow, <br /> Crashing on their tunnel with a huge sound. <br /> <br />The tunnel bore the brunt and kept them alive, <br /> They were utterly scared; it was humid and hot; <br />On one half a spoon of salmon they did survive, <br /> In the dark, only their helmet lights were their lot. <br /> <br />Despair and anguish gripped the men to pine, <br /> They were trapped in a dark dank space; <br />Seventeen days passed on with no sign <br /> Of contact with the world and human race. <br /> <br />In their desolate bleak cloud of isolation, <br /> There came a streak of silver lining; <br />A tube they espied with tablets of dehydration, <br /> Protein and high -calorie food for their dining. <br /> <br /> <br />Hope bloomed in the miners' hearts, <br /> They endured days -on with solidarity, <br />The measly food were their delicious tarts, <br /> They waited with fortitude and equanimity, <br /> <br /> <br />Up above, the entire world was in piquancy, <br /> And an array of international talent played, <br />The Chilean Govt: , NASA, Japan's Space Agency, <br /> And other companies, score, with them stayed. <br /> <br />The rescuers were in a hard torturous fix, <br /> As expertise converged for the complex rescue, <br />It was a narrow twisting escape shaft-the Phoenix_ <br /> Painted as the Chilean flag, red, white and blue.
