John William Gill
Second-class, 24 years old, Perished
Sarah, my dearest Valentine,
in my eternal sleep, I dream--
dream of what might have become of us.
Building a new life in America,
our happy nest chirping with children’s laughter,
sons and daughters who’d bear our grandchildren,
to carry on with future dreams of their own.
And you, my dear Sarah, blooming like a wild rose,
more lovely as the years pass by.
Darling, I’d swim a thousand oceans
to sweep you up into my aching arms.
How I yearn for your beating heart close to mine.
But here I lay helpless, nothing more than scraps of splintered bone
scattered across the bottom of a lonesome sea.
How cruel this eternal slumber can be
with nothing but endless hours to dream--
dream about us, and a life together not meant to be.
Note: John William Gill returned to America aboard the RMS Titanic. He had recently married his sweetheart, Sarah Elizabeth Hodder. His plan was to set up a home, in the United States, for his new bride and himself. On April 14, it was the couple’s two-month anniversary. The newlyweds had married on Valentine’s Day at St. John the Evangelist, Clevedon, Somerset, England. And though his body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennet, on April 23, 1912, he was buried at sea the following day, and months later, his personal effects were returned to his wife.
Second-class, 24 years old, Perished
Sarah, my dearest Valentine,
in my eternal sleep, I dream--
dream of what might have become of us.
Building a new life in America,
our happy nest chirping with children’s laughter,
sons and daughters who’d bear our grandchildren,
to carry on with future dreams of their own.
And you, my dear Sarah, blooming like a wild rose,
more lovely as the years pass by.
Darling, I’d swim a thousand oceans
to sweep you up into my aching arms.
How I yearn for your beating heart close to mine.
But here I lay helpless, nothing more than scraps of splintered bone
scattered across the bottom of a lonesome sea.
How cruel this eternal slumber can be
with nothing but endless hours to dream--
dream about us, and a life together not meant to be.
Note: John William Gill returned to America aboard the RMS Titanic. He had recently married his sweetheart, Sarah Elizabeth Hodder. His plan was to set up a home, in the United States, for his new bride and himself. On April 14, it was the couple’s two-month anniversary. The newlyweds had married on Valentine’s Day at St. John the Evangelist, Clevedon, Somerset, England. And though his body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennet, on April 23, 1912, he was buried at sea the following day, and months later, his personal effects were returned to his wife.
