Too much Pride
She slid down her slipway,
ponderous and vast –
The pride of Harland and Wolff –
the pride of Belfast
and that was part of the problem –
Too much pride…
She arrived in Southampton
on April the fourth,
much to the disdain of the
port in the north,
for they were proud of the heritage
that Liverpool held,
but in this case,
all envy would soon be dispelled…
Oh! her appearance was comely
and her lines were fine,
she was the pride of Thomas Ismay’s
White Star line –
and that was part of the problem…
Too much pride…
On April the tenth,
she sailed away from our shore
with a mixed bag of passengers,
the great and the rich,
the ragged and poor –
from the immigrant settler,
seeking a dream;
for the self-made millionaire
- a place to be seen..
Never had there been anything
quite like her before,
a last burst of opulence
ere the privations of war.
And Ismay, through arrogance
or too much to drink
boasted “Here is a ship
that even God cannot sink!”
Far too much pride…
With an aid of an iceberg,
sink her God did
and in less than three hours,
to her grave she had slid…
In that dark Newfoundland deep
and the freezing cold weather,
First class and steerage,
were dying together…
rich man and poor man
afloat on the tide
fifteen hundred dead,
seven hundred survived,
not enough lifeboats…
Too much pride.
Aye, wonderful tribute! I'd bookmark it too iffen I could. Superb. Me likes.
good historical write--yes, 'twas hubris (and avarice) largely to blame for its demise
Kevin this has to be one of your best - -a first-class piece of work which I would Bookmark if I could -- a narrative told with such expertise in rhyme deserves wider audience.
Doesn't it say 'Pride comes before a crash.' Sad when a stately ship meets its end... and in that situation all are equal, the poor, the rich... You penned this well