Poem: By A Very Small Helm

By A Very Small Helm

By J. Brad Chapman

It’s said, my good friend, that a very large ship

Is aided and served oh so true,

By the very small means of a very small helm

I’ll explain, as I’ve plied the big blue.

You see, a large ship sideways to the wave

In a storm becomes a great sail

And when the ‘ol wind starts to blow fierce enough

The great ship will broach and then fail.

Seawater pours in and the ship starts to sink

And the crew will cry out in shear fright

And then they’ll slip under with prayer on their lips

That rises and meets heavens height.

But that very small helm on that very large ship

Could have saved the drowned and doomed crew

If she’d only been steered to keep her work ways

To the wind and the waves of big blue.

If the bow is held straight to the billowy blasts

No matter how hard the wind blows

The ship will slice cleanly through tempest and storm

And she’ll reap what the wise Captain sows.

So what do we learn from the plight of this ship

That sunk in the watery realm?

We learn that by small means great ships can be saved

In this case, by a very small helm.

Some people think their efforts are small

And give up their cause with a sigh

But we know that by small means great things come to pass

By those who are willing to try.

So as the sky darkens and the storm gathers strength

Grip the helm tight and steer straight

Keep the ship work ways to high wind and wave

And by small means do that which is great.