MacKay-Bennett’s Mission

There was a ship docked out at sea,

With only moon for light,

Its captain and crew had a tough job to do,

But could not begin in the night,

So they waited for ‘morrow,

And pondered the sorrow,

That would come at break of day,

For the titanic had sunk down to the deep,

And all was not okay.

For many had perished out in the sea,

Men, women, and children the same,

And to recover the lost ones who did not survive,

Was the reason for which this ship came.

So early the next day at about 6 in the ‘morn,

Their solemn mission began,

They retrieved from the water,

Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters,

And labeled what they had carried,

But there were so many,

That sadly, some ended up buried,

Deep down into the sea,

The number of them was 116,

With 190 on board they headed back for the shore,

And unloaded at the Halifax dock,

Many were claimed,

But there were still many unnamed,

One of them just a small child,

The crew felt compassion,

And in fatherly fashion,

Chipped in to bury the boy,

They all stood graveside,

And I imagine some cried,

Peace for all I’m sure they were wishing,

For I’m not sure if they knew,

neither the captain nor crew,

that this would be their hardest mission.