Group Poem XX

[Audiendus]

The Shipwreck

When the crew felt a surge in the strength of the wind
They all knew right away they were sunk
And the captain said "Aye, 'tis an ominous sign"
As a rope hit the deck with a clunk.

But a sailor will never give in to the sea
And the helmsman with boldness opined:
"We will probably die in this damnable squall
But we'll fight it with hope in our mind".

So we battened the hatches and took down the sails
As a wave tore the flags from a mast
And the swells were as high as the ocean is deep
When the wheelhouse was smashed by the blast.

We were all on our knees—some for fear, some for prayer—
While the captain consulted his maps
With a visage forlorn, he looked out at the storm
Then he mused: "There's an island, perhaps..."

"If an island there be, let's weigh anchor straightway
For we're listing at 30 degrees"
Then by effort or grace, the ship's listing reversed
And they launched all the lifeboats with ease.

Since we labored in darkness, each boat burned a lamp
And we watched the ship break and go down
Then the glow from the lifeboats became our lone guides—
Would we land, or be pitched out and drown?

For a time we all managed to stay boat to boat
But the phalanx of lights soon dispersed
To the point it was hard to account for the souls
And the men with me shrugged, wept, or cursed.

In the end, there was one light—on boat on the beach
Seven men's only prospect of aid

[saparris]

The Shipwreck

When the crew felt a surge in the strength of the wind
They all knew right away they were sunk
And the captain said "Aye, 'tis an ominous sign"
As a rope hit the deck with a clunk.

But a sailor will never give in to the sea
And the helmsman with boldness opined:
"We will probably die in this damnable squall
But we'll fight it with hope in our mind".

So we battened the hatches and took down the sails
As a wave tore the flags from a mast
And the swells were as high as the ocean is deep
When the wheelhouse was smashed by the blast.

We were all on our knees—some for fear, some for prayer—
While the captain consulted his maps
With a visage forlorn, he looked out at the storm
Then he mused: "There's an island, perhaps..."

"If an island there be, let's weigh anchor straightway
For we're listing at 30 degrees"
Then by effort or grace, the ship's listing reversed
And they launched all the lifeboats with ease.

Since we labored in darkness, each boat burned a lamp
And we watched the ship break and go down
Then the glow from the lifeboats became our lone guides—
Would we land, or be pitched out and drown?

For a time we all managed to stay boat to boat
But the phalanx of lights soon dispersed
To the point it was hard to account for the souls
And the men with me shrugged, wept, or cursed.

In the end, there was one light—one boat on the beach
Seven men's only prospect of aid
The remainder are lost in the tomb of the deep

[Audiendus]

The Shipwreck

When the crew felt a surge in the strength of the wind
They all knew right away they were sunk
And the captain said "Aye, 'tis an ominous sign"
As a rope hit the deck with a clunk.

But a sailor will never give in to the sea
And the helmsman with boldness opined:
"We will probably die in this damnable squall
But we'll fight it with hope in our mind".

So we battened the hatches and took down the sails
As a wave tore the flags from a mast
And the swells were as high as the ocean is deep
When the wheelhouse was smashed by the blast.

We were all on our knees—some for fear, some for prayer—
While the captain consulted his maps
With a visage forlorn, he looked out at the storm
Then he mused: "There's an island, perhaps..."

"If an island there be, let's weigh anchor straightway
For we're listing at 30 degrees"
Then by effort or grace, the ship's listing reversed
And they launched all the lifeboats with ease.

Since we labored in darkness, each boat burned a lamp
And we watched the ship break and go down
Then the glow from the lifeboats became our lone guides—
Would we land, or be pitched out and drown?

For a time we all managed to stay boat to boat
But the phalanx of lights soon dispersed
To the point it was hard to account for the souls
And the men with me shrugged, wept, or cursed.

In the end, there was one light—one boat on the beach
Seven men who escaped from the foam
The remainder are lost in the tomb of the deep
The survivors would all return home.

THE END

NB: I decided to change the second line of the last stanza.

The final line is deliberately ambiguous: it can mean either "They all later returned home" or "They all want to return home".

[LukeJavan8]

Bravo you guys. To me this is your best one yet.

[Perry Lassiter]

Aye, mateys, tis that indeed!

[saparris]

Argh!

[gwray]

The Shipwreck

When the crew felt a surge in the strength of the wind
They all knew right away they were sunk
And the captain said "Aye, 'tis an ominous sign"
As a rope hit the deck with a clunk.

But a sailor will never give in to the sea
And the helmsman with boldness opined:
"We will probably die in this damnable squall
But we'll fight it with hope in our mind".

So we battened the hatches and took down the sails
As a wave tore the flags from a mast
And the swells were as high as the ocean is deep
When the wheelhouse was smashed by the blast.

We were all on our knees—some for fear, some for prayer—
While the captain consulted his maps
With a visage forlorn, he looked out at the storm
And his men on the verge of collapse

[Audiendus]

With regard to gwray's post above, please note that this poem (of 32 lines) was actually completed last August.

[LukeJavan8]

Thusly so, spake he.

[gwray]

Sorry! At the time I contributed, I saw the first page but not the little icons for pages 2 & 3.