“Christmas At Sea” by Robert Louis Stevenson

First published in a periodical just a few days before Christmas in 1888, "Christmas at Sea" is a vivid narrative poem that pulls the reader into the scenes. The stark contrast between the warm, domestic scene and the freezing weather onboard the ship is very poignant and is the most interesting part of the piece to me. While the Scottish writer is known more for his novels, he also wrote three volumes of poetry with the first one, A Child's Garden of Verses, being the most known to casual poetry fans.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Porch light.

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Family Media presents Versus in Vox Today. Christmas at Sea
by Robert Lewis Stephenson read by J. D.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Sutter. The sheets were frozen hard, and they cut the
naked hand. The decks were like a slide or a
seaman scarce could stand. The wind was a northwester blowing
squally off the sea, and cliffs and spouting breakers were
the only things I lead. They heard the surf of

(00:34):
roaring before the break of day. WI twas only with
the peep of light we saw how ill we lay.
We tumbled every hand on deck and stanter with a shout,
and we gave her the main topsail and stood by
to go about. All day we tacked and tacked between
the south head and the north All day we hauled
the frozen sheets and got no further forth. All day,

(00:57):
as cold as charity, in bitter pain and dread for
very life and nature, we tacked from head to head.
We gave the south a wider berth, for there the
tide race roared. But every tack we made we brought
the north head close aboard. So's we saw the cliffs
and houses, and the breakers running high, and the coast

(01:20):
guard in his garden with his glass against his eye.
The frost was on the village roofs as white as
ocean foam. The good red fires were burning bright in
every long shore home. The windows sparkled clear, and the
chimneys follied out. And I vow we sniffed the victuals.
As the vessel went about. The bells upon the church

(01:43):
were wrung with a mighty jovial cheer. For it's just
that I should tell you, how, of all days in
the year, this day of our adversity was blessed Christmas morn.
And the house above the coast guards was the house
where I was born. Oh, well, I saw the pleasant room,
the pleasant faces there, my mother's silver spectacles, my father's

(02:07):
silver hair. And well I saw the fire light like
a flight of homely elves go dancing round the china
plates that stand upon the shelves. And well I knew
the talk they had, the talk that was of me,
of the shadow on the household, and the sun that
went to sea. And oh, the wicked fool I seemed
in every kind of way to be here and hauling

(02:30):
frozen ropes on blessed Christmas day. They lit the high
sea light, and the dark began to fall, all hands
to loose top gallant sails. I heard the captain call
by the Lord. She'll never stand it. Our first mate,
Jackson cried. It's the one way or the other. Mister Jackson,
he replied. She staggered to her bearings. But the sails

(02:53):
were new and good, and the ship smelt up to windward,
just as though she understood, as the winter's day was ending.
In the entry of the night, we cleared the weary
headland and passed below the night, and they heaved a
mighty breath, every soul on board but me, as they

(03:13):
saw her nose again pointing handsome out to sea. But
all that I could think of in the darkness and
the cold, was just that I was leaving home, and
my folks were going old.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
Verses and Box is a production of Porchlike Family Media.
For more information on today's poem, as well as the
full credit for this recording, please visit Verses and Box
dot com.