Obligation

Luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic
in iceberg filled waters early on April 15, 1912.
Destiny intervened on the fateful night.
Had she not done so, had destiny
slept instead of coming between,
then another accident would
have occurred, sooner or
later, because of man’s
laxness of maritime
rules and safety,
protecting
all who
sail.

Back in that day,
men took for granted the
sea, assumed that danger
lacked any potential because
of this “unsinkable” ship, the largest
manmade structure on Earth, a fortress
to keep man safe no matter what, no matter
the blatant arrogance put forth by those who
built the ship, and by those who sailed her.

Alas, destiny had to prevail, and thus it did;
it had no choice, being that only so many
lifeboats were on deck, and being that
Titanic raced through iceberg filled
waters at twenty-two knots, and
that radio usage gave priority
to private communiques,
usurping that of official
business, like the
position of any
icebergs.

Arrogance, hubris,
a cavalier attitude born
of over-confidence based
on a ship, God himself could
not sink. Destiny had to intervene—
she had little choice but to crumple
the hull with the berg, and sink her.

40 Lines
Writer’s Cramp
9-25-19