one man's experience |
Mermaid or Mirage? The day they left was Friday, ‘twas the thirteenth some recall By dawn they hit the open sea, ahead they’d seen a squall The sky had lost all blueness, and the grey clouds hung in pall The Captain bade all hands to deck and ordered sails to fall Great gusts came with a fury that caused canvas to stretch taut The vessel ran before the wind, but plans were all for naught From high in crow’s nest came the call, ‘a monster we have caught’ The lookout shimmied down and joined the crewmen as they fought The thunder raged above them, and the lightning filled the sky The gales that whipped around them sent loose lanyards on the fly Huge waves that crashed against the hull sent sailor’s stance awry They prayed with fervent pleas God hadn’t planned for them to die The Captain shouted orders to a crew that couldn’t hear He wanted someone in crow’s nest; he knew that rocks were near But rain was now in torrents and their vision was not clear And deep inside he felt first stirrings of his biggest fear For six long hours the tempest raged, the crew now tired and spent The mast had long since given way, across the deck it bent The sails had loosed from lashings, full of holes most of them rent ‘Abandon ship’ was called just as upon the rocks they went One very lucky sailor had survived the sinking ship ‘cause just as he prepared to die, he felt a solid grip That hauled back to safety from a fatal current’s rip And laid him on a sandy surface where he couldn’t slip He recognized the siren who sat watching as he slept He saw beyond her naked shoulders, flowing locks were swept With seaweed braided in her hair, just like the memories kept Despair descended on him and the tears rolled as he wept Her face was quite exquisite with a natural glowing smile But shipmates told so many tales of mermaid’s soft beguile The sailor got to thinking and he lay there for a while As tales he’d heard, and what he saw, he tried to reconcile His heart was thumping in his chest; he knew he was in love His mind was busy seeking any guidance from above This maiden was the one for him, as sure as hand fits glove He had to find a way to make her his own turtledove He knew that loving mermaids was a pointless exercise But under palms on golden sand beneath the clear blue skies Obsession overtook him as he gazed into her eyes Regardless of the fact, her face held no hint of surprise For three short years he stayed there, was as happy as could be Living in the mermaid’s world, he felt so trouble-free Cavorting on the land and other times out in the sea Until one morning when he woke, he faced new tragedy The mermaid vanished in the night and left him all alone All day he pondered where she’d gone, why he was on his own The moment came he was aware his heart had turned to stone Her leaving simply was an act he never could condone He gathered everything he needed just before the night By rubbing sticks together helped the tinder to ignite The pyre sent out a plea for rescue with its flames so bright, And sure enough a passing ship was lured by beacon’s light The Captain listened to his tale and said he did admire A sailor who survived alone in circumstances dire But getting to familiar shores this sailor did aspire With sorrow bleeding from his heart, poured water on the fire He never went to sea again, and never was he wed His heart was broken by a mermaid, when from him she fled His rambling tales of mermaids filled the townsfolk full of dread And most would mutter that sea dog was not right in his head His memories are real to him, the only one who knows The mermaid who had rescued him and helped to ease his woes And so he tells his tale of shipwreck everywhere he goes And lets the tears fall freely when a big sou’wester blows line count 64 syllables 14 rhyme scheme aaaa |