TALE OF THE SEA
Come gather round and I’ll tell you a tale of the sea,
Told by an old sailor and he spoke softly to me,
He was the skipper of a trawler, two dozen hands or more,
One cold day they left the safe and very friendly shore.
After awhile a storm blew, icing the leeward side hull,
When this happens no sailors life is ever very dull,
They need to remove the ice so the vessel does not capsize,
If not both ship and those aboard could sink, too great a prize
To lose to the cruel sea, but the waves that day were as high as could be,
One massive wave covered them and the wind hard did blow,
And suddenly overboard the precious ships bell did go.
A great loss, but all were intent on saving ship, life and limb
So the ships bell went overboard into the ocean dank and dim.
Twenty years later, his son. now a skipper in his own right
Went often out to sea, the depths of the great ocean to fight,
Dredging the bottom of the ocean many strange things to find,
Some things they kept and many things were always left behind
Like rocks and seaweed they were returned back to the sea,
But one rock seemed very heavy, they wondered what it could be.
Now when at last they came to shore, all wanted to find out
Why that rock was so very heavy and a funny shape no doubt.
After careful chipping a big ships bell came into view,
And if you can believe it that old bell very well he knew.
It belonged to his dad’s old ship, it name still carved there,
A treasure found after twenty years and treated with loving care.
(Millicent) Ann Margetson July 12, 2003