25

West Point Lighthouse, early 1960's.
1960
West Point, Prince Edward Island

26

Poem of the West Point Lighthouse, by Roy J. Stewart, born on PEI

As a child I loved to watch it
From my window in the night;
As it flashed its lustrous beacon
Alternating red and white.
And I wondered if my father
As he sailed the the ocean blue
And caught sight of West Point Lighthouse
Knew that I was watching too.

Often when the storm clouds gather
And the seas were lashed with foam
By the violent blasts of autumn
Which oft rocked our humble home,
Causing every bolt and rafter
To complain with dismal shriek.
Like the sullen protest offered,
When the strong oppose the weak.

And I heard my mother murmer
As the shades of night go down;
"God bless those at sea, and grant
that none in this fierce storm may drown."
She would wander to the window
And look out towards the shore,
Where the waves were dashing madly
As they oft had done before.

Well I knew that she was thinking
Of my father far from land;
Wondering whether his frail vessel
Would the angry waves withstand.
And she always seemed contented
When the rays of red and white
From the tower of the Lighthouse
Flashed a message in the night.

For it spoke to her of guidance
For the sailors in that gale,
Trying hard to make the harbour
In their ships so small and frail.
May my life be like that Lighthouse
Standing firm through storm and blast
Warning, guiding weary voyagers
Till the haven's reached at last.