Little Ship Poem by Edward Hester

My little ship is stout and strong.
She stands against the gale.
My mast will hold again the storm
And bear the winded sail.

I point the bow at distant climes
And boldly there she goes
Til all my crew can hear the rhymes
In distant winds that blow.

The darkest clouds around us close
The storm is raging hail.
The waves are highest near the shore
Where fearful hearts would fail.

We run the coast along the reef.
To leeward side the Horn!
To Starboard comes the power of
The Spirit of the Storm.

We skirt the edge of Poseidon's Deep
The darkest depths I know.
Yet I am not the only one
Who runs the edge alone!

The storms at sea are waiting there
For anyone who sails
In search of God's own Heart and Love,
In search of Jonah's Whale

To find the Whale means all is lost
For you will downward go
Into the very darkest hours
Your life will ever know.

I know that few who go return
The same they were before.
For depths like this can take the mind
Who won't itself adore.

They say the Sea's the only way
To find out who you are
The Law is writ that Down is Up
The Way of Love is hard.

So if you will a'whalin' go.
Then tether to the mast
Your hopes and cares for all this life
Then make your heart storm-fast.

The journey'll take near all you have
And leave you lost or mad.
The rain will be from all your tears
From sorrow, loss and madness.

They say the journey's worth the price
With pearls of priceless worth
All found beneath the dragon's hoard
Where hero's hearts take birth.

But take a care and think again
Who says this is the Way?
The Land would be a better place
To grow your Flowering Tree.

To find out who and what you are
Your heart will grow the need
To prove yourself to be
The very one to heed.