day five

For today's prompt, I want you to write a poem about a landmark. It can be a famous landmark (like Mount Rushmore or the Sphinx) or a little more subdued (like the town water tower or an interesting sign).



The good ship "Varyag"

if you ever come to scotland
and you drive the ayrshire coast
when you reach a place called lendalfoot
you'll hear the people boast

we have a mighty monument
down there besides the waves
it's big and bronze and russian
to mark a great ship's grave

she rests beneath the firth of clyde
not a long way from the shore
her history is told in tales
and sung in songs of yore

fifteen ships surrounded her
demanding her surrender
her crew they fought with bravery
in order to defend her

they fought until they could no more
still they refused to yield
they scuttled the ship "varyag"
and so her fate was sealed

the japanese recovered her
in nineteen hundred five
they sailed her as the "soya"
her legend was alive

eventually they sent her back
eleven years along
the russian's were to celebrate
in prayer and dance and song

in nineteen hundred seventeen
the ship set sail once more
this time to undergo repairs
upon a british shore

the october revolution
caused the russians to forget
the brave ship "varyag"
had still not sailed home yet

they sold her to the germans
sailed her up the firth of clyde
when she reached our lendalfoot
she hit some rocks and died

so if you drive by lendalfoot
make sure you stop and see
the famous russian monument
which means so much to me!

Copyright © 2009 by Eryll Oellermann


the story of the "Varyag" and a photo of the monument may be found ...

"http://www.russiatoday.ru/Top_News/2007-09-09/Scotland_perpetuates_memory_of_Russian_warship.html