X it for Xtreme Measures

X has been found, really found!  It's the A to Z Challenge, and letter X is for today.  I have been searching for a lobster boat that begins with the letter X for quite some time.  and I found it a couple of days ago.
I have not yet met Xtreme Measures in person, but found its news article online.  It is a lobster boat that was lost off Spruce Head in a blizzard.  It had been lost for 10 days in February, but was located adrift about 150 miles away.
Story here: Bangor Daily News.

"Xtreme Measures"

The night was dark
And fearsome;
No stars to
Guide the way.
The sky was thick
With snowflakes;
No twinkle
Nor moon ray.
The waves were cold
And mighty;
No rest for
Boats this day.
With blust'ry winds
For weather,
The snow could
Hide a stray.

The boat was tossed
And tugging;
No hope to
Hold her tight.
The ropes were frayed
And loosened;
No crew to
Head her right.
The craft was sure
And worthy
As winds would
Give her flight.
The boat would go
Unnoticed
Until the
Next daylight.

For days no one
Could find her,
But still she
Tried to cope.
She wandered far
And yonder,
Until she
Felt taught rope;
A bit relieved
And tired
About to
Give up hope.
She gave in to
The guidance
No more to
Blindly grope.

At last this boat
Was rescued
From out the
White-cap foam.
The captain was
Excited,
His boat was
Guided home,
The miles of isles
and shoreland
He no more
Had to comb.
Still even keeled
And steady
She never
More would roam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Seaman's Woman

I watch the way your
Work gnarled hands
Comb through your
Tangled thinning strands
You reach for your storm-worn jacket
You grab your lunch
and kiss me "Thanks"
Your boots walk heavy
on the planks
I begin my waitful watching.
Sun warms the day
but not the seas
Over the side legs
swing with ease
Though slower than the day we wed.
Our grandson follows
quick behind
Hops in two young legs
At a time.
And runs his hand through tousled locks.
The day begins
for you anew
But it's no longer
mine to view
My life of sea is here on land.
I know the seas
that call your name
I've known that voice
and heard the same
I've baited and wrestled with ropes.
Side by side our
lives together
With winds, waves and
storms to weather
Until Salt and Sweet brought new tides
With life's new
challenges in hand
Though my sea heart
was grounded on land
It beat with you as you kept the tides.
Till you returned
from cold wild sea
For supper and
warm bed with me
These days and years skimmed by.
A son of the sea
Sweet left to marry
But Salt remained
to help you carry
Our name and all the load.
Son of Salt growing,
filling your boots
Puts down his
seaweed roots
And feels that tug on his oar-locked heart
Mirroring your moves,
Old Salty, beware
Your grandson watches
what you share
Becoming his own man of the sea.
And he will be strong
and happy as you
If he finds
his sea-woman true
To share this salt and sweet life.

Donna JT Smith, 2013

I should be writing about my trip and my grandson...but I guess in some respects I am. I started this poem a while ago, finished it, and then reworked it into this rhyming format, which I finished today. Though not men of the sea where I'm visiting  in Pennsylvania, the plot is still the same.