The fishing boat claws up
the rising wave;
As icy green swells o’er
the plunging bow;
The captain and his mate,
no longer brave;
Cling desperately to
wheel and gunnel now.
On shore a maiden bride
does light the lamp;
She knows her husband may
not find Auke Bay;
Unless she braves the
storm to shine the ramp;
And tend the flame to
pierce the murky day.
The mate, his mind since
numbed by ocean’s lash;
Shouts out, “This gale
doth steal my will to fight!”
But then the captain sees
a beacon flash;
A gleam to prove they
will survive their plight.
On shore the wife clings steadfast
to the lamp;
And vows her frozen hands
will not unclamp.
Rich Ritter is a forty-year Juneau resident and the author of several books including Toil Under the Sun: A Novel and Heart of Abigail: A Lyric Novella of Juneau, Douglas and Treadwell. He recently published The Perilous Journey Begins, the first book of Nor Things to Come: A Trilogy of the American West.
