Portland Head lighthouse, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
Memorial to the capsized British vessel, Annie C. Maguire, 1886
A mist roles in from a cold, dark sea.
Waves kick up, thrashing the British barque.
Wind gusts rip sails from the bowing masthead.
A deep guttural sound bellows to the surface from under the ship’s hull.
She hits rock, breaking apart on impact.
Caught in her rigging she turns and twists in its knotted embrace.
The Annie Maguire drifts, its SOS not acknowledged.
Were there none to hear her distress signals sent?
Darkness descends.
A bullhorn sounds, and the cone-shaped glow of light emerges.
The lighthouse; a beacon to the capsized ship and crew.
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Footnotes: Mystery surrounds the capsized Annie C. Maguire British vessel. Miraculously her crew was saved and rescued on Christmas Eve, 1886, when the ship went aground during a storm, but the ship’s remains were never recovered. You can find images and information on this vessel and story here
Joyce E. Johnson (2014)
Reflections 