The Kessack Ferry-boat Fatality Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABBB CDBB EEFF GGHH IIJJ KLBB MMNN IIOO HHPQ OORS OOTT OOUU VWXX YYUU| 'Twas on Friday the nd of March in the year of | A |
| That the Storm Fiend did loudly laugh and roar | B |
| Along the Black Isle and the Kessack Ferry shore | B |
| Whereby six men were drowned which their friends will deplore | B |
| - | |
| The accident is the most serious that has occurred for many years | C |
| And their relatives no doubt will shed many tears | D |
| Because the accident happened within yards of the shore | B |
| While Boreas he did loudly rail and roar | B |
| - | |
| The ferry boat started from the north or Black Isle | E |
| While the gusty gales were blowing all the while | E |
| From the south and strong from the south west | F |
| And to get to land fclie crew tried their utmost best | F |
| - | |
| The crew however were very near the land | G |
| When the gusts rose such as no man could withstand | G |
| With such force that the ferry boat flew away | H |
| From her course down into the little bay | H |
| - | |
| Which opens into the Moray Firth and the river Ness | I |
| And by this time the poor men were in great distress | I |
| And they tried again and again to get back to the pier | J |
| And to save themselves from being drowned they began to fear | J |
| - | |
| And at last the poor men began to despair | K |
| And they decided to drop anchor where they were | L |
| While the Storm Fiend did angry roar | B |
| And the white crested billows did lash the shore | B |
| - | |
| And the water poured in but was baled out quickly | M |
| And the men's clothes were wet and they felt sickly | M |
| Because they saw no help in the distance | N |
| Until at last they blew the fog horn for assistance | N |
| - | |
| And quickly in response to their cry of distress | I |
| Four members of the coastguard in coastguard dreys | I |
| Whose station overlooked the scene put off in a small boat | O |
| And with a desperate struggle they managed to keep her afloat | O |
| - | |
| Then the coastguards and boat drifted rapidly away | H |
| Until they found themselves in the little bay | H |
| Whilst the big waves washed o'er them again and again | P |
| And they began to think their struggling was all in vain | Q |
| - | |
| But they struggled on manfully until they came upon a smaller boat | O |
| Which they thought would be more easily kept afloat | O |
| And to which the hawser was soon transferred | R |
| Then for a second time to save the ferrymen all was prepared | S |
| - | |
| Then the coastguards drifted down alongside the ferry boat | O |
| And with great difficulty they kept themselves afloat | O |
| Because the big waves were like mountains high | T |
| Yet the coastguards resolved to save the ferrymen or die | T |
| - | |
| Then at last the ferrymen got into the coastguard boat | O |
| And they all toiled manfully to keep her afloat | O |
| Until she was struck as she rose on the crest of the wave | U |
| Then each one tried hard his life to save | U |
| - | |
| And the poor men's hearts with grief were rent | V |
| For they were thrown into the merciless sea in a moment | W |
| And out of the eight men two have been saved | X |
| All owing to their swimming abilities and how they behaved | X |
| - | |
| Oh it must have been a fearful sight | Y |
| To see them striving hard with all their might | Y |
| To save themselves from a watery grave | U |
| While the Storm Fiend did laugh and angry did rave | U |
William Topaz Mcgonagall
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about The Kessack Ferry-boat Fatality poem by William Topaz Mcgonagall
Best Poems of William Topaz Mcgonagall