"Standing tall A beacon in storm. Hope for souls in fright." Thus was inscribed on the foundation stone, Of an old lighthouse; unused now, no longer burdened with the responsibility of leading ships home. It lay abandoned, uncared; No longer a hub of activity. No longer remembered. Except perhaps on a specific day. A day when, many years ago Tall columns of clouds Had suddenly swamped the skies The sea had turned ominous The waves, murderous. In the darkness of the night, The stormy sea had risen high Aiming to consume the trawler To its deep confines. Lurching dangerously The trawler and its two occupants Had braced for the worst. The dark night Had them in a grip, tight. The frenzied winds had Hit them with all their might. Home seemed nowhere in near sight. In absence of guiding stars Reaching the shores, they realised Would be a tall order. When all had seemed lost And fate seemed intent to do its worst. Through the darkness the duo perceived a glimmer of light. The lighthouse that day had stood tall. Amidst the darkness and squall To port, it had the trawler brought. In remembrance of that day They come each year; A sailor's cap on their head. Bent with age now, And with wrinkles that hide the smell of sea in its folds. Touching the walls They mutter heartfelt gratitude To the old lighthouse For having saved them on that fateful day. In front of the foundation stone They bend low To place a bouquet of flowers in obeisance. Then back to their lives, they go. The lighthouse remains, Still looking at the horizon, Perhaps reminiscing And with pride Standing tall.
Copyright @ Goutam Dutta
Straight From My Heart 
Wonderful! Lighthouses are such fascinating places. Thank you for joining in with our challenge.
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My pleasure. Thank you for an interesting prompt, one that inspired so many thoughts in my mind. 😊
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You are welcome, Goutam. 🙂
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Wow wow wow… This is a gorgeous and deeply moving piece, Sir. I love it.
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Thank you so much for your inspiring comments. It always makes me so happy to know that you have enjoyed my write. Also, please feel free to call me Goutam…that’s my name, Dutta being my surname. 😊
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I will try to remember your name, Goutam 🙂 Your writing is always “wow”, and I assure you I’m 100% sincere in my comments 🙂 ❤
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Goutam, this is a splendid piece! One of your best in my opinion. Lighthouses have always been fascinating to me.
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Am so thrilled by your comment. Thanks so much Eugenia. I too am very fascinated by lighthouses. As part of one of my previous jobs, I had to visit a port where there was a lighthouse, still in working condition. I used to sit for hours in the evening , fascinated by the light-beam cutting through the darkness of the night over the sea. 😊
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You’re welcome, Goutam. Lighthouses have a certain aura about them which makes them intriguing.
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What a wonderful poem giving tribute to lighthouses. Thanks for this post.
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Am so thrilled that you enjoyed reading this. Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, I have always been fascinated by lighthouses, the way their light beam bores through the darkness and travels far. This prompt stirred that fascination and the words seemed to weave themselves on their own as I sat down to write this. 😊
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I hope we save more of them in the future.
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I hope so too.
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