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The Titanic Disaster Poem

by J. H. McKenzie

REVISED

On the cold and dark Atlantic,

The night was growing late

Steamed the maiden ship Titanic

Crowded with human freight

She was valued at Ten Million,

The grandest ever roamed the seas,

Fitted complete to swim the ocean

When the rolling billows freeze.

II.

She bade farewell to England

All dressed in robes of white

Going out to plow the briny deep,

And was on her western flight;

She was now so swiftly gliding

In L Fifty and Fourteen

When the watchman viewed the monster

Just a mile from it, 'Twas seen.

III.

Warned by a German vessel

Of an enemy just ahead

Of an Iceberg, that sea monster,

That which the seamen dread.

On steamed this great Titanic;

She was in her swiftest flight;

She was trying to break the record,

On that fearful, fearful night.

IV.

Oh; she was plowing the Ocean

For speed not known before,

But alas, she struck asunder

To last for ever more,

A wireless message began to spread

Throughout the mighty deep, it said,

'We have struck an iceberg, being delayed;

Please rush to us with aid.'

The Captain, of the White Star Line,

Who stood there in command,

Was an Admiral of seasoned mind

Enroute to the western land.

The Captain thought not of his life

But stood there to the last

And swimming saved a little child

As it came floating past.

VI.

Outstretched hands offered reward

For his brave and heroic deed

But the intrepid man went down aboard

Trying to rescue a passenger instead

This ill-starred giant of the sea

Was carried to his grave

On the last and greatest ship, was he,

That ever cleft a wave.

VII.

Gay was the crew aboard this ship,

Passengers large and small;

They viewed the coming danger,

They felt it one and all.

On played the grand Orchestra

Their notes were soft and clear;

They realized God's power on land

On sea 'twas just as near.

VIII.

So they played this glorious anthem

Continued on the sea

And repeated the beautiful chorus

'Nearer My God To Thee.'

Then silenced when the ship went down

Their notes were heard no more.

Surely they'll wear a starry crown

On that Celestial Shore.

IX.

Colonel Astor, a millionaire,

Scholarly and profound,

Said to his wife, 'I'll meet you dear

Tomorrow in York Town.'

His bride asked a seaman true

'Oh say! may husband go;'

The echo came upon the blue

He answered, 'He may, you know.'

This man rushed not to his seat

He seem to have no fear,

Being calm, serene and discreet

Tendered it to a lady near,

'Oh go, he said, my darling wife

Please be not in despair,

Be of good cheer, as sure as life,

I'll meet you over there.'

XI.

Well could he have known this dreadful night

The sea would be his grave

Though he worked with all his might

For those whom he could save.

This man a soldier once has been

Of military art,

Proved himself full competent then

To do his noble part.

XII.

Major Butt, well known to fame

A lady did entreat,

To kindly name him to his friends

Whom she perchance to meet.

He forced the men to realize

The weaker they should save;

He gave his life with no surprise

To the sea'a watery grave;

And with a smile upon his face

He turned to meet his fate,

Soon, soon the sea would be his grave

In and ever after date.

XIII.

And Strauss, who did the children feed,

Had mercy on the poor,

And all such men the world doth need

To reverence evermore.

Oh, may the union of Strauss and wife

Be memorial to all men,

Each for the other gave their life,

A life we should commend;

And may all girls who chance in life

To read this poem thru

Emulate the deed of such a wife,

As went down in the blue.

XIV.

Down, down goes the great Titanic

With faster and faster speed

Until Alas! there comes a burst

She bade farewell indeed

Farewell, farewell to land and seas,

Farewell to wharves and shore,

For I must land beneath the breeze

To reach the land no more

I carry with me more human weight

Than ever recorded before

To leave them on a land sedate

They will land, Oh! land no more.

XV.

Only a few you see,

May tell the story

Of this great calamity;

Husbands, Wives, perhaps in glory

View the sad catastrophe.

The Carpathia eastern bound

For the Mediterranean sea,

Turned to the mighty sound,

The wireless C. Q. D.

XVI.

Quick was the preparation made,

To warn the unfortunate few,

For the homeless was cold and delayed

Being chilled by the wind as it blew.

So to the youth

Through life has started,

Be ever thoughtful and true,

Stay by the truth, be not departed

Success shall come to you

Oh, may you shun the Iceberg,

By the dreadful work was wrought,

And prosper by the lesson

This mighty ship has taught.

End