Magic at Elephant and Castle Station

Below we see civilians sheltering from the air raid in the tunnels and on the platform at Elephant and Castle. Twenty-two years after the end of the Great War, in November 1940, many went into that same underground station in South London and sheltered from the next generation of German bombers.

They tasked me with writing a story/poem/opinion piece or essay. Could only be 100 words max. Had to be holiday themed for an international contest. Remembrance Day and Christmas came to mind. Third place, I'm pretty happy about it. I wrote a fictional poem about a piece of history.

Magic at Elephant and Castle Station

It is an eerie scene at Elephant and Castle Station: no trains carrying weary commuters no viewable shops with shutters down. But this Christmas Day a dazzling scene unfurls, companies and nonprofits have ensured that at this symbolic time the fearful can forget despair and grime

for tables have replaced weary footsteps and a Christmas meal provided together with free wool blankets and warm coats. Perhaps Santa, watching from the flickering stars feels there’s still hope for humanness and this brief respite from a life so worrying deserves to grace many a Christmas returning.