Seba Smith

“ And expire in open air;
Some, a moment to escape from the grave,
On the bowsprit take a stand;
But their death is near at hand---
Soon they hug the burning brand
On the wave.
From his briny ocean-bed,
When the morning sun awoke,
Lo, that gallant ship had fled!
And a sable cloud of smoke
Was the monumental pyre that remained;
But the sea gulls round it fly,
With a quick and fearful cry,
And the brands that floated by
Blood had stained.
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”