In Praise of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The words in German are from a revised version of Schiller’s Poem "An die Freude" Ode to Joy. I’ve paraphrased them in English to form the first four lines of my poem.

Part of Schilller’s poem formed the basis  of the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, an extract of which, was adopted by the European Union, on the grounds that it expresses the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity.

Following my poem is Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Vasily Petrenko & the European Union Youth Orchestra. (The bit relevant to my poem is to be found at aprox.43:13.)

Was die Mode streng geteilt,

Let not prejudice’s sword divide us,

Alle Menschen werden Brüder,

Let all people now be brothers,

A vision of beauty here does thrive

Amongst these Britons of four nations,  

Where noble volunteers now strive,

To protect us all from life’s privations;

Humanity’s our common wealth,

Storm Force-flat calm, no matter what,

They serve our needs before themselves;

Within our shores, some shelter sought,

They to their plight compassion brought.

Uilleam Ó Ceallaigh

August 1st 2023