Sink Or Swim Poem by David Lewis Paget

The sea of storms came in
To batter our barley coast,
I was determined to sink or swim,
You to be drowned, and lost.
The lightning struck at our moorings,
The thunder silenced our needs,
The wind howled out our candles
And darkness caught at our creed.

But he was tossed in the fury,
Our love, our darling boy,
He clung to the drifting flotsam,
He clung to the well-loved toy.
One minute in every moment
Is lost to the best of men,
One moment of rage and anger
Cost me my lovely son.

The years went by in a whisper
A whisper of wind, and gone,
One moment, stark with lightning
Remains, while the stars shine on.
We touched for a parting moment,
We caught, touched fingers then leapt
Each to our storm forever;
- I reached for my son, and wept.

23 December 1987