Life's Boat

LIfeboatmen say that the most difficult part of a rescue is not always the horrendous perilous sea conditons, but the problem of trying to convince the fearful victims to jump from their stricken craft onto the safety of the lifeboat.

Life’s Boat

Once when my life did near submerge

They came to rescue me,

Called me to jump the crashing surge
To where I’d find safety.

At first I was afraid to make

That vault, so they did plead

“Your life comes from the leap you take!”

Thus I found truth in deed.

If problems since seem wide and deep

And can’t be solved by Man,

I think back to that wondrous leap

For now I know I can.

Stuart Larner

 (first published Gazette and Herald 2008, reprinted in 'Patterns of Hope' anthology and 'Scarborough Modern Sea Songs')