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The Snowflake That Sank The Titanic

It all begins with a single snowflake
(Each one in itself is unique)
Brought about through evaporation,
And returned by the force of gravity
In the form of snow to the planet,
To rest on the Greenland ice sheet,
Some fifteen thousand years ago.
Snowflakes multiplied trillions of times over,
Piled on top of each other and compacted,
Until the sheer weight of the conglomerate
Resulted in a glacier formation.
Creeping west to the Arctic coast,
Where a piece broke off
(Calved, as it’s called),
To begin a two-year voyage
(A thousand miles overall),
Floating south to the Atlantic Ocean.

Destiny and coincidence make appearances,
Throughout history, without explanation,
As to time and place and events that happen.
The ‘RMS Titanic’ departed,
Southampton for New York Harbor;
The tenth of April 1912, in the year of Our Lord,
With two ports of call in-between,
France and Ireland before the crossing:
As the iceberg entered the shipping lanes,
Of the North Atlantic.
Both bound on a collision course
Of tragic consequence.
‘Titanic’s’ lookout reported;
“ICEBERG RIGHT AHEAD!” 1

And so they collided on that fateful night,
The block of ice and the ocean liner,
As recorded in the annals of history;
April 14, 1912, at 11:40 p.m. ship’s time.
The Western Union telegram received reads:
“We have struck iceberg. Sinking fast.
Come to our assistance.
Position: Lat 41.46 N. Lon 50.14 W.” 2

The ‘Titanic’ sank in two and a half hours,
On April 15, 1912, at 2:20 a.m.;
Four hundred miles south of Newfoundland.
The ‘Director of the White Star Line’ wrote:
“Deeply regret [to] advise you
TITANIC sank this morning fifteenth
after collision [with] iceberg,
 resulting in serious loss [of] life.
Further particulars later.” 3

The infamous iceberg tips and rolls,
Melting away and then is no more.
Hence, from the ocean borne,
And to the ocean returned.
From the Belfast shipyards to New York City
(Built of steel and rivets and coveted luxury)
The ‘White Star Line Vice President’ stated,
(When he learned that the ‘Titanic’ was in trouble)
“We place absolute confidence in the Titanic.
We believe the boat is unsinkable.” 4
A shallow boast costing fifteen hundred and seventeen lives,
The ‘unsinkable sinks:’ Seven hundred and six survive.
The ‘Titanic’ in pieces,
Lies on the ocean’s floor.
                      ***

Notes:
1) Iceberg Right Ahead: On April 14, 1912 @ 11:03 p.m., Frederick Fleet (from the Titanic’s crow’s nest aka lookout) sighted an iceberg straight ahead, and rang the lookout bell three times to warn of what he had seen, and then telephoned the ship’s bridge and spoke these famous words, “Iceberg right ahead.” Radar, as yet had not been invented. Thirty-seven seconds later at 11:40 p.m. on that fateful night, the RMS Titanic struck the iceberg.

2) Telegram from RMS Titanic to SS Birma, April 14/15 1912 (11:45 p.m.); Cgd – Sos. from M.G.Y. (CQD & SOS are distress codes—CQD Come Quick Disaster; SOS—no meaning, ease of use of Morris Code, three dots, three dashes, three dots; M.G.Y.—simply refers to Titanic).

3) Bruce Ismay (Director of the White Star Line) and Titanic survivor sent the telegraph by the Marconi from aboard the SS Carpathia on April 17, 1912.

4) White Star Line Vice President P.A.S. Franklin made this announcement. The Titanic lay on the bottom of the Atlantic when he spoke these words.
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