I Stood and Watched in Horror - A Poem

This is a poem about an incident that happened when we were on holiday on our boat.

Our boat was the Laurian the little four berth cruiser with the orange top that you can see in the photo.

My daughter was around ten or eleven years old when this incident happened.

She was on the lock-side holding the mooring rope when it slipped off the bollard. As the rope came off the bollard she fell back and tumbled about 12 feet into the lock that we were emptying of water.

The lock was tightly packed with boats and she slid from sight underneath the boats.

I stood and watched in horror

As she fell back into the lock

As her back hit the boat roof

She bounced then she slid off

With a splash and a scream

I think it was mine

She slid right out of sight

I stood for a moment transfixed

Not knowing what to do

I stood there doing nothing

As all hell around me broke

And pandemonium ensued

The shout went out

Drop the paddles!

As water rushed out of the lock

My shaking hands responded

The paddles were dropped

The water stood still

And as it had happened in a flash

Could this accident have been stopped?

The boats were packed in tightly

Into that old iron lock

My daughter was hidden from sight

And I just stood in shock

My husband and my hero

Swung into action right away

He is a man of action

And always ready for the fray

My daughter she had fallen

Twelve feet into the lock

Of wildly churning water

Still holding tightly to the rope

That water was now quite

But not so was my heart

It beat so wildly that I thought

It would break apart

Hand over hand he began to pull

On the rope in the water

Every eye was upon him

Waiting to see our daughter

All at once the water surface broke

Wild cheers and clapping erupted

As still clinging to the rope

Came out, our wildest hope

My daughter all intact

Although very wet

Came up yelling and berating

And very very upset

It wasn’t the fall or the dunking

That had her all upset

It was because while in there

She lost her Alice band

It was her favourite head band

That she loved to wear each day

She would not be consoled

Whatever we did say

Once we had her safe on-board

The lock was emptied quick

My daughter she was fine

But I was feeling sick

I got back on board the boat

And I couldn’t do a thing

I went and laid upon the bed

but no comfort did this bring

Shocked by what I’d seen

My mind played over and over

The the dreadful scene

And also the could have beens

My husband told me to get a grip

The holiday had just begun

The kids were ready to enjoy the trip

And I was spoiling the fun

I looked at the kids and saw that

My husband was quite right

The kids were acting like nothing had happened

I was the one that had experienced the fright

So I got up and took a grip

Like my husband suggested I should

I made the dinner and fed them

And that made me feel real good

The rest of the holiday was uneventful

We all had a really good time

And I was extremely thankful

For the rescue of that daughter of mine

© Annie Laurie 2009