Maiden Voyage
~~~
Fifty-two tons, one of the unsinkable ones
The proud flag ship of the White Star Line
With Captain Smith true and a seasoned crew
Left Queenstown for the New York skyline
~~~
But the captain didn’t know that the fires below
Were more than the common occurrence
The hull became frail in the miles they sailed
In the end, that would make all the difference
~~~
The lookouts worked hard, the only light stars
On a night that was cold and forbidding
But they did not see the iceberg set free
Hidden beneath still seas unforgiving
~~~
Then it was too late to avoid their fate
As ghostly ice gouged the hull wide and deep
The stokers knew first, as steel bulkheads burst
They were headed to an eternal sleep
~~~
The tragic fail, lifeboats hung at the rail
Hoped salvation that could not be lowered
And as water rushed in, raising panic and din
The North Sea came for what was owed her
~~~
What sealed their fate, how light scintillates
As scared signalman flashes passing ship
Distant twinkling light on such a starry night
Not seen as beyond horizon they slipped
~~~
The sea it is said, never gives up her dead
Tragic souls are gathered like plunder
But in the demise, saved spirits do rise
As the behemoth slowly slips under
~~~
There below the waves, the ones left unsaved
As what they said could never happen did
An icy deep shrine, forgotten to time
Where all the mariner’s failures stay hid
~~~
commonsensiblyspeaking 
tragically sad and beautifully written
Thank you, Beth! This is one of my favorites.
Only a well-seasoned poet could take such a deep and melancholy topic and render it to be something of beauty! Well done, dear brother, well done!
Thanks, sis! Love you!
Only you could find the beauty in tragedy. This is top shelf poetry, my dear!! ❤❤
Thank you, princess! ♥
THE most beautiful poem written about the Titanic. I’m a bit obsessed over her. We have a beautiful and profound museum near me in Branson. I have a story about my Grandmother and her birth one month after the Titanic sank. I won’t that up space here in your comments, but know it’s beautiful. You’re so gifted, Brad! 💕🙌🏻
Thank you kindly, dear Karla! I appreciate all your love and support. Please know you have mine in return! 💕
You’re so welcome, Brad! I feel the love and support and I thank you so much for that!!💕💛🤗
I’m only familiar with what I’ve read, but we’ve been lulled into a false sense of security more than once.
Thank you, Pete!
This is a beautifully written piece Brad. You paint an amazing canvas of a story told many times but you put fresh eyes on us all for sure. Lovely, Big hugs, Jonikins
Thank you, Jonikins!