A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
quote by William Shedd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The ship according to the gospel of Arsenio
A ship in the harbor is safe
But that is not the reason why ships are built
That is not what ships are
They are made to sail
To go not to stay
They are designed
To float
“Safety, security and survival
Are not the goals of our lives”
“Life is an adventure
Not maintenance”
At its end
The ship is always for
Sinking.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.
quote by Grace Murray Hopper
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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My Ships
If all the ships I have at sea
Should come a-sailing home to me,
From sunny lands, and lands of cold,
Ah well! the harbor could not hold
So many sails as there would be
If all my ships came in from sea.
If half my ships came home from sea,
And brought their precious freight to me,
Ah, well! I should have wealth as great
As any king who sits in state,
So rich the treasures that would be
In half my ships now at sea.
If just one ship I have at sea
Should come a-sailing home to me,
Ah well! the storm clouds then might frown,
For if the others all went down
Still rich and proud and glad I’d be,
If that one ship came back to me.
If that one ship were down at sea,
And all the others came to me,
Weighed down with gems and wealth untold,
With glory, honor, riches, gold,
The poorest soul on earth I’d be
If that one ship came not to me.
O skies be calm! O winds blow free--
Blow all my ships safe home to me.
But if thou sendest some awrack
To never more come sailing back,
Send any--all that skim the sea--
But bring my love-ship home to me.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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Bantry Bay
On the eighteenth of October we lay in Bantry Bay,
All ready to set sail, with a fresh and steady gale:
A fortnight and nine days we in the harbour lay,
And no breeze ever reached us or strained a single sail.
Three ships of war had we, and the great guns loaded all;
But our ships were dead and beaten that had never feared a foe.
The winds becalmed around us cared for no cannon ball;
They locked us in the harbour and would not let us go.
On the nineteenth of October, by eleven of the clock,
The sky turned black as midnight and a sudden storm came on--
Awful and sudden--and the cables felt the shock;
Our anchors they all broke away and every sheet was gone.
The guns fired off amid the strife, but little hope had we;
The billows broke above the ship and left us all below.
The crew with one consent cried 'Bear further out to sea,'
But the waves obeyed no sailor's call, and we knew not where to go.
She foundered on a rock, while we clambered up the shrouds,
And staggered like a mountain drunk, wedged in the waves almost.
The red hot boiling billows foamed in the stooping clouds,
And in that fatal tempest the whole ship's crew were lost.
Have pity for poor mariners, ye landsmen, in a storm.
O think what they endure at sea while safe at home you stay.
All ye that sleep on beds at night in houses dry and warm,
O think upon the whole ship's crew, all lost at Bantry Bay.
poem by John Clare
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Being safe is no good
Ships in the harbour are safe
But they are meant to sail out.
Men in the house are safe
But they are meant to hunt out.
13.03.2007
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
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A ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are for.
quote by John A. Shedd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A ship in harbor is safe--- but that is not what ships are for.
quote by John A. Shedd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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All That I Know
All we are
Is part
Of everything
It's out of our control
And I'll say
All you need to know
Is anything
That's happening is happening
All the ships in the ocean
Outside my window
Under the moon
All the lights in the harbour
Keep me from sleeping
Keep me from dreaming
Oh no
All that I know
All we are
Is part
Of everything
It's out of our control
And I'll say
All you need to know
Is anything
That's happening is happening
All the ships in the ocean
Outside my window
Under the moon
All the lights in the harbour
Keep me from sleeping
Keep me from dreaming
Keep the light on in the window
For the time that I am gone
And when this all is over
You will never be alone
Keep your head up
So you know
When you wake up
I'll be home
All the ships in the ocean
Outside my window
Under the moon
All the lights in the harbour
Keep me from sleeping
Keep me from dreaming
Oh no
All that I know
It's everything I know
song performed by by Get Up Kids from On A Wire
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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One Particular Harbor
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
I know I don't get there often enough
But God knows I surely try
I'ts a magic kind of medicine
That no doctor could prescribe
I used to rule my world from a pay phone
And ships out on the sea
But now times are rough
And I got too much stuff
Can't explain the likes of me
But there's this one particular harbour
So far but yet so near
Where I see the days as they fade away
And finally disappear
But now I think about the good times
Down in the Caribbean sunshine
In my younger days I was so bad
Laughin' about all the fun we had
I've seen enough to feel the world spin
Mixin' different oceans meetin' cousins
Listen to the drummers and the night sounds
Listen to the singers make the world go round
Ia ora te natura...
Lakes below the mountains
Flow into the sea
Like oils applied to canvas
They permeate through me
And there's that one particular harbour
Sheltered from the wind
Where the children play on the shore each day
And all are safe within
Most mysterious calling harbour
So far but yet so near
I can see the day when my hair's full gray
And I finally disappear
Ia ora te natura...
Ua pau te maitai no te fenua
Te zai noa ra te ora o te mitie
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett, music by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Voyage through obscurity
A man is standing alone on shore in darkness on a foggy night. He is looking out over the water when suddenly he hears a ships fog horn. He can not see the ship but the repeated sound of the horn and his present state of mind he begins to associate himself with this ship.
The man is at a crossroad in his life. He knows his life has been unsatisfactory up to now and is posed with a choice as to how to proceed in the future. One way is risky, the other is safe.
A heavy fog looms over the water.
A far-off horn somewhere in the distance
Wails its melancholic voice of despair
Repeatedly with urgent persistence.
On shore I stand alone in the darkness
Feeling a coexistence with this ship
That navigates blindly more or less
Onward a potential perilous trip.
Where is my life taking me on its voyage?
What is my warning device? Do I scream
Out loud when life’s pitfalls impede my way?
Shall I navigate without a light beam
Through life’s hazardous chartered odyssey
Or flounder searching for safe guarantees?
poem by Albert Ahearn
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On your right side you become
On your right side you become
a glowing fire, right against me
and it’s as if in this cold winter
I get shelter
and your touch is intimate and soft
and goes right through my whole being
bringing promises of far off horizons
and like a sailing ship
on the wide ocean
that sails through stormy seas
smashing without mercy
and suddenly see land
with a safe harbour:
you are for me, in this season of year.
poem by Gert Strydom
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A Burnt Ship
Out of a fired ship, which by no way
But drowning could be rescued from the flame,
Some men leap'd forth, and ever as they came
Near the foes' ships, did by their shot decay;
So all were lost, which in the ship were found,
They in the sea being burnt, they in the burnt ship drown'd.
poem by John Donne
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Marina
At the marina in Hout Bay
expensive and fancy pleasure yachts were
lying on the surging swell
with water lapping at their bows
safe in a small harbour
and many times did I long
to be on one of those small ships,
to live such a pleasure filled life,
but it came to me how inconsequential
a live of wealth can be
as if my words, my reality
would loose all substance
while I witnessed fog sweeping in from the sea
blotting out each lovely drifting form
and still I had more horizons to explore,
had more words to write,
had more places to go
and things to experience,
as if my sails had to be set
into a world where storms rage
far from the sheltering
of a safe harbouring place.
poem by Gert Strydom
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Aboard At A Ship's Helm
ABOARD, at a ship's helm,
A young steersman, steering with care.
A bell through fog on a sea-coast dolefully ringing,
An ocean-bell--O a warning bell, rock'd by the waves.
O you give good notice indeed, you bell by the sea-reefs ringing,
Ringing, ringing, to warn the ship from its wreck-place.
For, as on the alert, O steersman, you mind the bell's admonition,
The bows turn,--the freighted ship, tacking, speeds away under her
gray sails,
The beautiful and noble ship, with all her precious wealth, speeds
away gaily and safe.
But O the ship, the immortal ship! O ship aboard the ship! 10
O ship of the body--ship of the soul--voyaging, voyaging, voyaging.
poem by Walt Whitman
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At the Harbour
The ships are in the harbour,
Some ship are small, some are larger,
The wavy waters blue and green,
Although blue and green should not be seen.
Saucy Jane was a little red boat,
Who bobbed merrily upon Squire John’s moat?
Her sail was white, her stern was mauve.
Han sail was white, her mast was new,
As she swam through the sea,
Of tranquil blue, with trickling bits of green.
poem by Claire Galpin
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A Passing Ship
A passing ship
I have found the open ocean
Give me no lip
The waves roll by as I pass on
A snulit sea
On the first day of april
How fresh the wind
Will you miss me when Im gone
How many words
How many songs still unwritten
How many ships
Of the line have come and gone
In the good old days
May they never be forgotten
They had heavy wind
Or they had no wind at all
A passing ship
It is midnight on the ocean
Had a real long trip
I have been at sea all winter
When my ship came in
I was givin up the ghost
I think I should be
Leavin those passing ships alone
When the sea runs high
The sea runs wild and Im unsteady
And I think of you
In the warmth of your home and family
When love is true
There is no truer occupation
And may this gale
Blow us to the ones we love
Another day
Another ocean
Give me no lip
But stand aside as I pass on
A sunlit sea
On the last day of october
How fresh the wind
Will you miss me from now on
I guess I should be
Leavin passing ships alone
song performed by by Gordon Lightfoot
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sailing Ships
(coverdale/vandenberg)
Do you remember
Standing on the shore,
Head in the clouds,
Your pockets filled with dreams
Bound for glory
On the seven seas of life,
But, the ocean is deeper than it seems
The wind was with you
When you left on the morning tide,
You set your sail for an island in the sun,
On the horizon, dark clouds up ahead,
For the storm has just begun
Take me with you,
Take me far away,
Lead me to the distant shore
Sail your ship across the water,
Spread your wings across the sky
Take the time to see
Youre the one who holds the key,
Or sailing ships will pass you by
You cry for mercy,
When you think youve lost your way,
You drift alone, if all your hope is gone
So find the strength and you will see
You control, your destiny,
After all is said and done
So take me with you,
Take me far away,
An lead me to the distant shore
Sail your ship across the water,
Spread your wings across the sky
Take the time to see
Youre the one who holds the key,
Or sailing ships will pass,
Sailing ships will pass you,
Sailing ships will pass you by...
Take me with you,
Take me far away,
Well ride the wind across the sky
Spread your wings and you will see
You control, your destiny,
So sailing ships dont pass you by
So take me with you,
Take me far away,
Well ride the wind across the sky
Spread your wings and you will see
You control, your destiny,
So sailing ships dont pass,
So sailing ships dont pass you,
So sailing ships dont pass you by...
Baby, baby, baby, baby,
Youll find that youre the only one
Can sail your ship across the sky
song performed by by Whitesnake
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Bonny Port of Sydney
The lovely Port of Sydney
Lies laughing to the sky,
The bonny Port of Sydney,
Where the ships of nations lie.
You shall never see such beauty,
Though you sail the wide world o’er,
As the sunny Port of Sydney,
As we see it from the Shore.
The shades of night are falling
On many ports of call,
But the harbour lights of Sydney
Are the grandest of them all;
Such a city set in jewels
Has ne’er been seen before
As the harbour lights of Sydney
As we see them from the Shore.
I must sail for gloomy London,
Where there are no harbour lights,
Where no sun is seen in winter,
And there are no starry nights;
And the bonny port of Sydney—
I may never see it more,
But I’ll always dream about it
As we view it from North Shore.
poem by Henry Lawson
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Costa Concordia
Now hear the misanthropes cry out with joy,
The mighty giant lies crippled on her side.
Rejoicing o'er the hated crippled toy,
The jackals celebrate her loss of pride.
Of fate's sad triumph over man's great dreams;
No mention made of all the ships that sail
So safe - it's tragedy preferred it seems,
So blame the ship, when one man's judgement fails.
The pessimists in comfort rant and rage
Of Nature's power and follies of mankind;
They take the benefits of this great age;
Of how they came about the fools are blind.
But those who reason are not turned by lies,
‘Tis but a hurdle - progress on will race.
Perhaps Concordia will never rise,
But other ships will sail to take her place.
poem by Dennis N. O'Brien
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I Love Lyme Regis
I love Lyme Regis,
the pink and white cottage's,
and the deep blue sea,
the pebble on sandy beach's where the children play,
walking along the heritage coast, picking up fossil's along the way,
watching the fishing boat's going out to sea,
bringing back mackerel and crab for us to eat for tea,
the Cobb, the cliff's, the safe harbour for the little ship's,
for these and many more thing's,
i love Lyme Regis.
poem by Alan J Duffield Lock
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