Dead Ships

We are not sudden haters; but by dint
Of many horrors all our hearts are quick.
We are not ready writers, with the trick
Of rhyming just to see our words in print.
Nor are we fast forgetters: there remain
Bitter and shameful in our memory
Old murders that made horrible the sea
And tinged clean water with a red, red stain.
_Titanic_: she went down for love of speed;
The _Eastland_--curse her!--just for dirty greed;
But there are ships whose names are yet more rank.
The years have passed, but still our hearts are sick
To think of the cool cruelty that sank
The _Lusitania_ and the _Arabic_.