Continuing Series, Free Verse, Photo Prompt, Poetry

Slow Embrace: The Endurance Speaks – Old Steam Ships, #3

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Inspired by a new blog called ‘Old Steam Ships’
by our friend, Max, I have written a poem in
the voice of the Arctic Ship SS Endurance.

Courtesy Max @ Old Steam Ships

I was built for breaking ice, not for this….
this slow embrace that breaking cannot answer.
They named me well, they thought, for what I’d bear,
but endurance has a limit, and I found it
in the frozen white that never stopped arriving.

Through winter’s dark I felt the squeeze begin….
not sudden, never sudden, just a tightening,
the way a hand closes slowly around a bird
until the bird stops struggling, not from peace
but from the simple fact it can take no more.

My timbers spoke before the men did.
A groan along the keel, a shudder in the masts,
oak fighting pressure older than the oak, and losing,
plank by plank, the argument that wood makes
with an ocean turned to stone.

October came.
They stood upon the floe and watched me die
the way you watch a fire collapse instead of roar….
not loud, not fast, just settling,
board by board, into myself,
until the white closed over where I’d been.

A month I lingered, broken, in the grip,
then slipped beneath the dark and went down
singing the only song a ship has left to sing….
the long sound of water overtaking wood,
the Weddell Sea folding me into its quiet.

My wheel still stands.
My bow still points toward south.
Small lives drift down now, settling soft as snow….
not failure, but a passing of the watch
from men to creatures who never see the light.

Courtesy Max @ Old Steam Ships

NAR©2026

This is “Save Yourself” by KALEO

The Arctic Ship SS Endurance

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

22 thoughts on “Slow Embrace: The Endurance Speaks – Old Steam Ships, #3”

    1. Thank you very much, Reena. This was a different type of disaster; the only victim was the ship. It seemed right for me to speak on behalf of the ship and try as best as I could to get her ‘voice’ heard. It felt good giving her some bit of closure. I’m enjoying this new series very much and I’m encouraged by the enthusiastic response from my friends. 😌

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  2. Wow, what a splendid piece of writing and such a visual piece you have written. I also, though had never heard of this band, truly enjoyed the music as well. I wanted to find my favorite stanza but impossible in this work. Just stunning from beginning to end. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. I’m truly delighted to have the chance to complement the tragic stories of these majestic old steamships with my own writings. Thank you for reading, enjoying and commenting on today’s installment and the soundtrack by KALEO, an incredible band from Iceland. ☺️

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  4. That’s great Nancy…the ship’s story perfectly told through you. She is so beautiful and looks like she is still on a mission…now she is home to life…just different life but still alive.

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    1. Very well put, Max. I’m not quite sure why I feel compelled to write about these ships and I’m not going to question it either. I’m left with a strong sense of accomplishment at giving the ship her due. Thanks for the inspiration and the wonderful comments. 😌

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      1. That’s very close to how I felt when I started this. You just explained it better than I have when people asked me why. I wanted to honor these great ships and people who made and sailed them. Thank you for taking an interest in this! It makes me feel like someone is listening.

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    1. Each one of these ships has a story and I feel compelled to tell it, even though at times writing them can be physically and emotionally draining. It’s wonderful to know my efforts are appreciated. Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, Jodi. 😌

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  7. Wonderful tribute Nance – your poem breathes life into the ship itself. Giving it a voice immediately shifts the tone from a standard historical recount to a deeply intimate, tragic monologue 🙌

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    1. There was really no other way to approach the outcome of this particular ship. Yes, it was a tragedy, but of a different sort when comparing it to the horror of the Titanic. The one who was hurt the most by this was the ship. Thank you for reading and leaving such a lovely comment. 😌

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