The Shipwreck

I’ll admit that I do not have a photo of a sunken ship. This will have to do. Here’s the connection; when I look at this photo it reminds me of the kind of shore where the detritus of a shipwreck would wash up. It’s rugged, uneven and uninviting. The poem, however, focuses on the moment an underwater discovery is made although the last stanza makes an allusion to experiencing the dangers of the sea from the relative safety of the shore. The poem was inspired by an article I read about modern day underwater treasure hunters. I was also inspired by the unforgettable scenes from the Titanic wreck. 

Suddenly a ghostly form in the shape of a ship

Miles below the storm an underwater crypt.

Lying broken at the bottom a fate all mariners fear

A prize for Neptune’s gotham in darkness now made clear.

A link to the distant past carrying some priceless treasure

Hidden under the mast sealed in liquid pressure.

Sadness for the souls who once walked her decks

Or swung from tangled hammocks floating free as tiny specks.

Silent fish swim in schools looking for a humble haven

Glowing like living jewels swift in their evasion.

As we hover in our place the seabed rises up

To conceal the secret space over the tomb we now corrupt.

Her graceful beams are rotten a once proud vessel lies

Now all but forgotten her legacy yet to rise.

What is it about the sea that draws us to the task

To solve another mystery of the fate of men once cast?

And those of us who stand along this crooked shore

Cry courage for the damned whose souls are evermore.