A Near Thing
Contributed by Claire Conway
The shoal was but two mile away,
But the wind was fair and strong
We thought that it’d come to stay
But we soon found we were wrong
Soon I could barely see the bow
The fog was choking thick
The voices of the men were hushed
The wind was changing quick.
The cap’ns face was stern and pale
The steersmans knuckles white
From gripping at the steering wheel
As around us closed the night.
The steersmans face was wet and pale
The cap’n stood by he starboard rail
A compass in his shaking palm
Hoping, hoping for a calm
Then the ship gave a sigh
The boom creaked overhead
The wind shifted again
When we’d thought we were dead.
Now a fair wind for home!