Titanic

100th Anniversary Poem (Considered to be the greatest maritime disaster of all time - 14/15 April 1912) Fair maiden of the ocean deep (1) This mighty vessel lost to sleep A jewel `neath a moonless sky `Twas fate that she so soon would die Against the ice her doom was sealed (2) Just ten percent of it revealed As close against its buried side With grace and dignity to glide The greater part was hid below (3) (An icy mass of frozen snow) A jagg`ed fortress `neath the sea A dark, unseen catastrophe Her belly slashed, then set to die, (4) (Upon the ocean bed to lie) Into her hull the ocean gushed People and objects swirled and crushed But no-one listened to her cries (5) Nor even to her calls did rise And none aknowledged all her flares Nor sought to answer all her prayers Two hours and forty minutes passed (6) With all her charges holding fast Just twenty lifeboats, not yet filled, (And fifteen hundred hearts were stilled) Water seeping into her heart (7) Tearing her very soul apart Invincible of White Star Line She lurched, she groaned, with severed spine O`er time a saviour ship arrived (8) To aid the ones who had survived To take them thus into her care A ship of safety anchored there But in the darkness of the night (9) In ice-cold waters void of light Bounced scattered souls upon the waves Descending to their watery graves Then all the while, when hope was gone, (10) In calm repose the band played on (`Nearer My God To Thee, ` they think) As, with grace, she started to sink One hundred years her memory (11) Still lingers `neath the raging sea Within the hearts of all bereft Of those whose lives have long since left They said that sink she never could (12) But oh, dear God, she surely would! Invincible of White Star Line She lurched, she groaned, with severed spine And though one century has passed Lost souls in memories are cast Their eyes as stars in heaven dwell Reflected in the ocean`s swell With tales of life and secrets kept Of those who loved and those who wept Your stories you will never tell Farewell, my friends, farewell, farewell... The sun upon the shimm`ring sea Will ever your companion be - Verse 1: 10 April 1912 - depart Southampton bound for New York - North Atlantic crossing. Verse 2: 14 April 1912 at 11: 40 pm she hit an iceberg - she was travelling too fast and had taken a more northerly route than was appropriate for that time of year. Verse 3: The iceberg lay just 1000 yards ahead but was not seen due to it being a moonless night. Verse 4: She was hit starboard bow - many assumed it was just a glancing blow which she had survived. Verse 5: The crew of The Californian went to bed as it was thought that she was having a party. Verse 6: She held only 20 lifeboats instead of the 64 which she was designed to carry - just one- third of her capacity, and these were not filled. Verse 7: Five compartments were flooded (only four and she would have survived) , and just before 2-20 am on 15 April she broke up as she sank. Verse 8: RMS Carpathia responded to her cries for help and proceeded to rescue lifeboat survivors. Verse 9: 1500 lives were lost. Approximate survival rates: 1st class - 62% 2nd class - 41% 3rd class - 25% Women - 75% Children - 50% Men - 20% 3 out of 12 dogs survived. Verse 10: As they did on deck - all members of the band were lost, and subsequently were regarded as heroes. Verse 11: 1912-2012: 100th Anniversary Poem. Verse 12: Captain Edward John Smith went down with his ship - his body was never recovered.