Going Down and Gone

Going Down and Gone

The ship set sail and slipped away,
Beyond the harbour light,
While music filled the ballroom,
And dancers blessed the night.

They raised their glasses, laughed and talked,
The band played one song more,
Then suddenly the water came
Across the ballroom floor.

A glass lay broken on the stairs,
A coat swept out to sea,
And someone called into the dark,
“Please bring my child to me.”

One was a mother, one a dad,
A brother and a son,
Each had a life they longed to live,
And things still left undone.

The lifeboats rocked upon the waves,
Small shapes against the night,
While those still waiting on the deck
Held one another tight.

Down and down the great ship sank,
Its lights no longer shone,
Where music filled the air before,
Now all of it was gone.

Too deep for loving hands to reach,
Beyond the light of day,
The sea had taken all they held
And carried it away.

But somewhere stood an empty chair,
A coat still hung at dawn,
And someone waited by a door
For those now down and gone.