The Merchant Ship by Sarah Noble Ives
A child watches a ship on "the raging sea" beyond "the Shining Way," carrying a rich, royal cargo to her, including cherries described as juicy, red, and sweet. Once the ship reaches her side, the cargo becomes hers, and the empty ship sails back across the tide to Jimmy, who waits on the other shore. The speaker controls the ship's movement by blowing on it from her side: blowing hard keeps the ship steadily on its course toward her. If she blows so much that the ship travels too far past her, Jimmy will blow it back toward himself, sending it once again across the water between them.
By Sarah Noble Ives · Genre: Fantasy, Children's Literature, Poetry · 125 words
First lines
Down by the side of the Shining Way / There's a ship on the raging sea; / And she's bearing a rich and royal load / Over the waves to me.
(There are cherries juicy and red and sweet,) / And when she has reached this side / The cargo's mine, and the ship returns / To Jimmy across the tide.
If I blow right hard from my side of the sea / She steadily keeps her track; / And when she has travelled too far for me, / Jimmy will blow her back.
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Genres
- Fantasy — The poem centers on a magical ship that operates on an enchanted waterway called 'the Shining Way,' controlled by the breath of characters separated by water, which is inherently fantastical and not grounded in realistic mechanics.
- Children's Literature — The simple, playful narrative structure, innocent imagery of cherries as cargo, whimsical magical system, and rhythmic verse form all indicate an audience of children or a work employing childlike wonder.
- Poetry — The work is presented in verse with a consistent rhyme scheme (AABB pattern in sections) and regular meter, making the poetic form itself fundamental to the work's identity.
- Magical Realism — The magical elements (the enchanted ship and breath-control mechanism) are presented matter-of-factly within an otherwise simple, domestic narrative about cargo exchange between two people.
Tags
poetry · verse · narrative poem · children's literature · maritime · seaside · ships · cargo · cherries · gift-giving · friendship · reciprocity
What this Textopian page supports
The Merchant Ship is listed on Textopian as a short story by Sarah Noble Ives, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Sarah Noble Ives
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Fantasy, Children's Literature, Poetry, Magical Realism, Fairy Tale
- Length: 125 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
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- Work identity for The Merchant Ship by Sarah Noble Ives
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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