Sunday, August 10th 1628
Morning broke over the Stockholm of old
The sun shone brightly on every eastern facing roof wall and gate
It started as a beautiful day; but one from which history would be told
One by one filed the townspeople
Down Stockholm ’s streets narrow and long
To the church to pray under its high steeple
While the bells sounded their summons song
They may have prayed for an abundant harvest
Some that from foreign wars their men would return
Others for the crew of the Vasa, which was about to go on its quest
To deal with a foreign threat that would see Gustav Adolph’s great throne burn
Round about the islands of the harbor a light southwestern breeze blew
Sending small ripples dancing across the water deep
Across to a large ship which was then taking aboard some of her crew
And making last minute preparations for the voyage which was to see her to sleep
There the mighty warship Vasa lay below the royal castle
A powerful and frightening modern war machine
Her 64 bronze cannon meant to pour bloody hell and hassle
Into an enemy whose lust for Swedish power she was built to pacify clean
She was the pride of the Swedish naval institution
Ornamented by hundreds of sculptures, built with one thousand trees of oak
She was before her time; some have said a revolution
In naval design of which only a handful of worldly people had spoke
Sailors warped Vasa away from her Skeppsbron dock
Into more open water where she could then set her canvas white
To Vaxholm Vasa was bound to take on soldiers and other vital stock
Wives and children to disembark there and watch their loved ones being sent to fight
Into a fight the powerful warship Vasa would never sail brightly
In a stronger breeze, Vasa immediately started to heel to her port side
The helmsman turned her rudder and she righted slightly
Then heeled again, as water entered her gunports which displayed her guns with pride
This time she was not to come right in the breeze which would not pull her sheets taught
Vasa sank after traveling only a short way, not even sighting the enemy she was to fight
For their lives, not for King and country her crew and officers faught
Vasa took around 50 souls with her to the bottom in the mornings early light
Interrogation of the survivors by the Kings men followed in angry tone
The sound of accusations flew through the halls of the Royal castle
Were you drunk? Were the guns secured? The questions flew at each survivor alone
But no one could be found responsible and for the interrogators it was a futile hassle
On the bottom of Strommen 16 fathoms down great Vasa lay
The ship and the disaster forgotten to most people’s intellect
For 333 years until being salvaged one extraordinary day
And being put on display in a museum for millions to see and reflect
On the unfortunate twist of events which ended Vasas intended life fast
And realize that these disastrous events were not all in vain
Because sometimes, unexpectedly, good things come at last
Out of humankinds blunders, misery and pain
By Clayton Johnson
Janurary 28th 2007
