The Lifeboat

The streets here are so small
That If you were inclined,
You could draw a map on the palm of your hand.
You could laden it with detail and intricate lines 
Showing the path of the shoreline 
And shape of the sand.

This place is ever so quiet at night,
And the light faintly glows
From windows 
That house the old.
And of the young 
There are still some 
Raising their glasses to the best of the night. 

If there is a sudden sound in this town
It is of the alarm 
Summoning the lifeboat out to the sea.
The houses come alive
In the dead of the night 
Old and young are woken from their dreams.

The town fills with dread
Knowing from the lifeboat
What is meant,
That this tiny town may become smaller tonight. 
As children grab at adult hands
Blankets draped around them as they stand
Shielding their eyes from the great lifeboats lights.

Now the people they surround,
The edge of the sea in this harbour town,
The shrill sirens have taken all from their beds.
The railings they hold
That are freezing in the cold 
Were built to protect the three men that would drown.

There were three fathers at sea,
And never for them 
Would there be
Another night spent safe in their homes.
They would return to the shore 
Bodies sodden and more
Laid out to find peace upon the sand.