The Wreck of the Titanic

A Skittish Poem



The Wreck of the Titanic
While on her way to America in April 1912
by William McGonagall, Poet and Tragedian

O beautiful ship Titanic
Of the White Star Line,
Your tragic tale shall be remembered
For a very long time.

Twas in the Month of April,
on the Fourteenth day,
That a disaster happened
Which took more than fifteen hundred lives away.

They were heading t'wards Americ's shore
In the middle of the night,
When the lookout spied an iceberg,
Which gave him quite a fright.

They turned the wheel hard to Port,
And then again to Starboard,
But they hit the iceberg anyway.
The hull was rent like cardboard.

They tried to make the passengers
Get into the lifeboats,
But they said that it was too cold,
To be outside without their coats.

But Mr J Bruce Ismay of the White Star Line,
Persuaded them, because
He got into a lifeboat,
To show how safe it was.

And Mr Guggenheim was there,
With his valet by his side.
They both wore Evening Dress,
For to drown while badly dressed they could not abide.

They tried to make Mrs Strauss,
Get into a lifeboat,
But she wouldn't leave her husband.
They will never be forgot.

Joughin, the Ship's Baker,
Had imbibed the Demon Drink,
He jumped into the water,
He was lucky not to sink.

But they pulled him in a lifeboat,
And he survived the night,
But he signed the Pledge when he got home,
'Cause he got such a fright.

The hero of the hour
Was Second Officer Lightoller
And I think that his example
We should all be sure to follow.

He did his duties bravely,
Though people swore and cursed,
Enforcing the Rule of the Sea,
'Women and Children first'

A wave washed him from off the deck,
Into the icy brine,
But he survived to tell the tale,
And defend the White Star Line.

At last the great Leviathan,
Slipped down below the water.
The Engineers stayed at their posts,
They never once did falter.

And Captain E.J. Smith,
On the bridge until the last,
Might not have hit the iceberg,
If he hadn't gone too fast.