The Sleepy Mississippi River....
....and more.
A lazy day aboard a steamboat,
Cruising on the mighty Mississippi.
The rhythm of the paddlewheel churning,
On the waters called the 'old big mudddy'.
To the passengers aboard it was truly a delight,
For they took heart knowing land was never out of sight.
Peaceful days with perhaps an evening shower,
No one was hurried at six miles per hour.
The vessel was being steered by an ancient mariner so old,
That he had a seaman standing by for company I'm told.
With two ordinary seamen on the bow on a swing,
To keep watch up forward for any unusual thing.
I was on 'watch' in the engine room that night,
That typical warm and humid soft moonlight.
The paddlewheel churning and steam engine working.
A routine of keeping the lights on while the passengers were sleeping.
And then, there was a bump and the vessel became still,
On a peaceful night, with sound close to 'nil.
It appears not only the passengers were sleeping,
The Pilot, able bodied seaman and the two ordinary seamen also dozing.
The bump that we felt was that we had run into the bank,
No one was steering and this was no prank.
I got an astern bell on the engine order telegraph,
As we pulled away from the bank to a deeper draft.
The passengers were none the wiser of what happened,
We stayed on schedule and docked at voyage end.
For you see, the lazy river succeeded to deliver,
That, what happens on the River, stays on the River.
Tom Guiney