We hear a great commotion <br />'Bout the ship that comes to grief, <br />That founders in mid-ocean, <br />Or is driven on a reef; <br />Because it's cheap and brittle <br />A score of sinners drown. <br />But we hear but mighty little <br />Of the ships that won't go down. <br /> <br />Here's honour to the builders – <br />The builders of the past; <br />Here's honour to the builders <br />That builded ships to last; <br />Here's honour to the captain, <br />And honour to the crew; <br />Here's double-column headlines <br />To the ships that battle through. <br /> <br />They make a great sensation <br />About famous men that fail, <br />That sink a world of chances <br />In the city morgue or gaol, <br />Who drink, or blow their brains out, <br />Because of "Fortune's frown". <br />But we hear far too little <br />Of the men who won't go down. <br /> <br />The world is full of trouble, <br />And the world is full of wrong, <br />But the heart of man is noble, <br />And the heart of man is strong! <br />They say the sea sings dirges, <br />But I would say to you <br />That the wild wave's song's a paean <br />For the men that battle through.<br /><br />Henry Lawson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-ships-that-won-t-go-down/
