Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A TALE OF THE SEA, by WILLIAM MCGONAGALL



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A TALE OF THE SEA, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: A pathetic tale of the sea I will unfold
Last Line: Will think of the hardships of poor mariners while at sea.
Subject(s): Boats; Fish & Fishing; Hunger; Sea; Survival; Ocean


A PATHETIC tale of the sea I will unfold,
Enough to make one's blood run cold;
Concerning four fishermen cast adrift in a dory.
As I've been told, I'll relate the story.

'Twas on the 8th April, on the afternoon of that day,
That the little village of Louisburg was thrown into a wild state of dismay,
And the villagers flew to the beach in a state of wild uproar
And in a dory they found four men were cast ashore.

Then the villagers, in surprise, assembled about the dory,
And they found that the bottom of the boat was gory;
Then their hearts were seized with sudden dread,
When they discovered that two of the men were dead.

And the two survivors were exhausted from exposure, hunger, and cold,
Which caused the spectators to shudder when them they did behold;
And with hunger the poor men couldn't stand on their feet,
They felt so weakly on their legs for want of meat.

They were carried to a boarding-house without delay,
But those that were looking on were stricken with dismay,
When the remains of James and Angus M'Donald were found in the boat,
Likewise three pieces of flesh in a pool of blood afloat.

Angus M'Donald's right arm was missing from the elbow,
And the throat was cut in a sickening manner, which filled the villagers hearts
with woe,
Especially when they saw two pieces of flesh had been cut from each thigh,
'Twas then the kind-hearted villagers did murmur and sigh.

Angus M'Donald must have felt the pangs of hunger before he did try
To cut two pieces of flesh from James M'Donald's thigh;
But, Oh, heaven! the pangs of hunger are very hard to thole,
And anything that's eatable is precious unto an hungry soul.

Alas! it is most pitiful and horrible to think,
That with hunger Christians will each other's blood drink,
And eat each other's flesh to save themselves from starvation;
But the pangs of hunger makes them mad, and drives them to desperation.

An old American soldier, thathad passed through the Civil War,
Declared the scene surpassed anything he's seen byfar,
And at the sight, the crowd in horror turned away,
Which no doubt they will remember for many a day.

Colin Chisholm, one of the survivors, was looking very pale,
Stretched on a sofa, at the boarding-house, making his wail;
Poor fellow! his feet were greatly swollen, and with a melancholy air,
He gave the following account of the distressing affair:

We belonged to the American fishing schooner, named "Cicely,"
And our captain was a brave man, called M'Kenzie;
And the vessel had fourteen hands altogether,
And during the passage we had favourable weather.

'Twas on March the 17th we sailed from Gloucester, on the Wednesday,
And all our hearts felt buoyant and gay;
And we arrived on the Western banks on the succeeding Tuesday,
While the time unto us seemed to pass merrily away.

About eight o'clock in the morning, we left the vessel in a dory,
And I hope all kind Christians will take heed to my story:
Well, while we were at our work, the sky began to frown,
And with a dense fog we were suddenly shut down.

Then we hunted and shouted, and every nerve did strain,
Thinking to find our schooner, but, alas! it was all in vain:
Because the thick fog hid the vessel from our view,
And to keep ourselves warm we closely to each other drew.

We had not one drop of water, nor provisions of any kind,
Which, alas! soon began to tell on our mind;
Especially upon James M'Donald, who was very thinly clad,
And with the cold and hunger he felt almost mad.

And looking from the stern where he was lying,
He said, Good-bye, mates, Oh! I am dying!
Poor fellow, we kept his body, thinking the rest of us would be saved,
Then, with hunger, Angus M'Donald began to cry and madly raved.

And he cried, Oh, God! send us some kind of meat,
Because I'm resolved to have something to eat;
Oh! do not let us starve on the briny flood,
Or else I will drink of poor Jim's blood.

Then he suddenly seized his knife and cut off poor Jim's arm,
Not thinking in his madness he'd done any harm;
Then poor Jim's blood he did drink, and his flesh did eat,
Declaring that the blood tasted like cream, and was a treat.

Then he asked me to taste it, saying, It was good without doubt,
Then I tasted it, but in disgust I instantly spat it out;
Saying, If I was to die within an hour on the briny flood,
I would neither eat the flesh nor drink the blood.

Then in the afternoon again he turned to me,
Saying, I'm going to cut Jim's throat for more blood d'ye see;
Then I begged of him, for God's sake, not to cut the throat of poor Jim,
But he cried, Ha! ha! to save my own life I consider it no sin.

I tried to prevent him, but he struck me without dismay,
And cut poor Jim's throat in defiance of me, or all I could say,
Also a piece of flesh from each thigh, and began to eat away,
But poor fellow he sickened about noon, and died on the Sunday.

Now it is all over, and I will thank God all my life,
Who has preserved me and my mate, M'Eachern, in the midst of danger and strife;
And I hope that all landsmen of low and high degree,
Will think of the hardships of poor mariners while at sea.





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