About 10 years ago, my granddaughter, Maggie Earle of Zurich, Ontario, was doing a school project and her mom, Mary, asked if I might have anything to add re: Lighthouses. I came up with the poem "Sentinel of the Sea," which was later also embroidered on a cushion by Mary. Last year, Maggie, almost 17, presented me a picture she painted of the Point Amour Lighthouse, and I recently took a photo of the painting. I once spent some time on Point Amour as a young radio operator, and my son, John Jr. (Maggie's dad), now a vet in Ontario, was born in the area.

Sentinels of the Sea

Located on our islands, capes and headlands
In the open where there is no lee,
Made of concrete, wood and iron
Are the Sentinels of the Sea.

Their lights shine forth in calm and storm,
No matter where they be,
Warning our mariners of rocks and shoals,
These Sentinels of the Sea.

The hearty souls who staff them,
Are a caliber of high degree,
Who ofttimes risked their very lives
While on the Sentinels of the Sea.

Pushing off in wind-swept waves
To answer some sailor's plea,
Whose ship has been tossed ashore
Near those Sentinels of the Sea.

Many stories are still being told
To plain folk, like you or me,
Of rescues braved by those who staff
The Sentinels of the Sea.

Years ago, with other hardships,
There was no electricity,
The lights were all oil-operated
On these Sentinels of the Sea.

Nowadays they are almost obsolete,
As the years, oh how they flee,
Some are now tourist attractions,
These Sentinels of the Sea.

No matter what their use is now,
We should salute on bended knee,
These great lighthouses and their staff
The Sentinels of the Sea.

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