While I was generally quite down on Slapstick when I covered it yesterday, it still has a decent number of worthwhile poems. Here's one of my early favourites because of its nice rhyme and rhythm, as well as a fairly clear topic and theme.
I am the warm hello and the sad farewell
I am the path to glory and the road to hell
I am the gull on the wing and the salt in the air
I am the night patrol and the morning prayer
I am the port register, read the names with pride
I am the thickening fog and the quickening tide
I am the ferryboat, the slaver, the man-o'-war
I am the keeper of the quays, welcome ashore
I am the starstruck, eternal romantic
I am the gateway to the Atlantic.
As mentioned above, Gateway to the Atlantic is taken from Slapstick (aka Slapstick Poems), McGough's 2008 collection published by Puffin.
3 comments:
A perfect and emotional poem....lived it!
I Saw this poem on the wall of the Liverpool Museum. Yes i'm an easy touch for work of this nature having been at sea for 8 years in my youth, and loving the city of Liverpool and it's wonderful people.
But not withstanding that this is an excellent poem. It conjures up images and the different moods of the great ocean. All seafarers will love it as well as landlubbers with a feeling for the sea. You have inspired me to attempt something on the Pacific. If it's anywhere near as good as this I will have succeeded.
I'm a foreign visitor to Liverpool Museum and found this great poem. Then I googled and found your post. A wonderful experience to know more about this poem. Quite curious about the "slaver" mentioned in the poem. Is it positive or negative? (still learning the history of Liverpool and I guessed the author has a neutral attitude) Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
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