Who Dares Say This?

Regarding "Who Dares Say This?"

When I was watching
A video clip of the wild sea state
Occurring at Plum Island
On January 29th, I
Was reminded of the
Old Christian hymn,
“How Great Thou Art.”
The basis for this famous
Work was a nine
Stanza poem written by
Swedish minister,
Carl Boberg, in 1885.
He had been on the Swedish
Seacoast on a beautiful
Day, when he was
Overtaken by a tremendous
Thunderstorm of
Unspeakable power.
And then, just as suddenly,
The sky changed again,
And a beautiful blue
Appeared and birds began
To sing! He dropped
To his knees and began
To utter words which
Would be the basis for his
Poem and afterwards
His song. Next to “Amazing
Grace”, it is considered
The most beloved
Of all Christian hymns.
Flash forward to several
Weeks ago, when on
January 29th, a ‘bomb cyclone’
Snowstorm ravaged
New England and parts of the
Massachusetts coastline
With up to 30 inches
Of snow. In the midst of the
Frenzy that day, a very
Brave woman had, in a sense,
Her own Carl Boberg
Moment, and captured a
Forty two second video clip of
What it was like that
Instant to stand just a few
Bare feet from a wild,
Frigid Plum Island surf.
Thanks to the courage
Of that woman, we, too, can
Understand how someone
In 1885 would say,
“How Great Thou Art!”

Leo Carroll
February 13, 2022