Have you ever heard of the clipper LOCH ARD?
Its story reminds us to be on our guard.
In 1878--oh, such grief!--
She shipwreck occurred when the ship hit a reef.

It happened just off the Australian coast--
Where shipwrecks caused many to give up the ghost--
Because of some miscalculations and fog
And not 'cause the captain was drinking his grog.

The crew had tried hard but could not get a grip
On any way that they could save the great ship.
Only two people--does this strike a chord?--
Survived of the 54 people on board.

A lucky crew member--Tom Pearce was his name--
Made sure survival became his chief aim.
A small upturned boat was for him within reach.
He hung on till he found himself on the beach.

Eva Carmichael was lucky as well.
She hung on to objects afloat in that hell.
When the young woman was pulled from the tide,
She learned that her folks and her siblings had died.

Tom had helped rescue her; he'd heard her cries.
He saw that she struggled and feared her demise.
The two nineteen-year-olds were both tired and sore.
They drank from some bottles that drifted ashore.

Tom searched for other survivors in vain.
He hoped that he had enough strength to sustain
His efforts to scale the sheer cliffs, which he did.
It could have been deadly in case he had slid.

After their rescue and it became known
How the survivors' two lives had been thrown
Together in such a way, people thought they--
Eva and Tom--would get married one day.

Could THIS be a love story starting to bud,
Or would their relationship end with a thud?
They shared a link that was special, of course;
But love is not something that people can force.

Both of them married but not with each other.
In Ireland years later she married another.
Tom and his wife had two sons who would be
On ships--sad but true--when they both died at sea.

As lovely as bodies of water appear,
Oceans and seas can be something to fear.
Eva and Tom were both lucky and brave.
The ocean came close to becoming their grave.

-by Bob B (5-14-24)