by Gina Macdonald

Created on: December 14, 2008

The Winds of Destiny

There is a tale that's seldom told,

About a man and his ship of gold.

He was a captain for many a year,

And sailed the high seas without fear.

He was the proud skipper of a merchant ship,

It was loaded with spices and oils, ready for the next trip.

They usually sailed to the far off East,

To get some supplies to trade, at least.

He had a fine crew, a score or more,

They were loyal and true, to him they swore,

An oath was said when they were hired

Against all mutiny, or they'd be fired.

The crew was tough; they'd been through a lot,

They knew all of the drills and could tie a good knot.

Men like these are able bodied and ready,

Even in a storm, they could keep the ship steady.

Now they usually sailed starting in the spring,

But the weather was rough and the wind would sting.

The captain thought it was best to sail later on,

So they prepared to leave, soon they would be gone.

It was a sunny day in mid July,

When the captain ordered the flag to fly.

They were going to sail to a far off coast,

To get some new supplies at most.

So the crew said goodbye to all their friends,

"We'll be back before the autumn ends!"

They didn't think there was anything wrong,

They went off singing a merry song.

They packed the supplies they were going to trade,

The captain gave orders and the crew obeyed.

Men hoisted the sails, men readied the ship,

As they were ready to set off on their ill-fated trip.

So the ship set sail, the crew waved goodbye,

They didn't know they were fated to die.

The first few days were calm and clear,

The crew and the captain were all in good cheer.

The weather was quiet, with strong winds to sail,

The crew toasted their blessings every night with ale.

They were fortunate at first to have such good luck,

But soon it would change, they would be stuck.

So they saw the good weather was going to end,

When the lookout glimpsed storm clouds about to descend.

The captain wasn't worried; he'd seen this before,

As he pondered this, it began to pour.

Rain came down in torrents; it came down with a force,

The captain ordered the ship to change course.

He wanted to find the nearest place to land,

To wait out the storm, a safe haven was the plan.

The brave captain knew they weren't far from a dock,

But which direction was it? He'd have to take stock.

He knew their position from his compass and chart,

And which way was North, this was a good start.

Now the storm was changing, a hurricane it became,

And in the open water, it was not very tame.

There was thunder and lightning, the rain pounded down,

The whole

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