Wallace Hartley

There is the story
of the band aboard
the Titanic
paying
Nearer My God to Thee
as the ship
slipped below the waves
and it feels
incomplete in
some way because
did they continue
as they slid off the deck?

Did they float awhile
in the frigid waters
and likewise play
something meaningful,
like Dreams of Home?

Did they somehow
continue to play
as they settled
toward the bottom
of the ocean,
watching the sawing
of the violin to
count time on
No Surrender as
sharp-toothed fishes
circled them eagerly.

Wallace Hartley

I want to know,
because when my time comes
I want music, and
as the lights dim,
I want to glance up
and see the band
is prepared to
make the journey
with me.

I want music
the whole way.