If I Lived in a Lighthouse

By Carol Quinn

If I lived in a lighthouse

On an island off the coast,

There’d be lots of things to do

To keep me at my post.

I’d climb my winding staircase

To watch for sailing clippers

And sound a foghorn greeting

To suntanned, seaborne skippers.

I’d polish all the lantern brass

On all my guiding lights,

Keeping things in good repair

For stormy, windblown nights.

I’d look through my binoculars

For passing, spouting whales

And mend my many fishing nets

And patch my puffy sails.

Then, when all my work was through,

I’d roam the sandy dunes,

Collecting shells that washed ashore

And whistling sailors’ tunes.

Illustrated by Doug Roy