“I do not think that they will sing to me.”

Those mocking voices, mermaids in the depths,

Swimming and drowning men in the dark sea,

They are not the ones who will call to me.

 

Overlooked by those fish out of water,

The lone sailor left behind on the once

Proud sinking ship.

I thought that the captain was the last man aboard?

 

The rest of the crew’s gone: Cook with his hat,

The redhead named Von, the blond lad from Bath.

The captain with his gleaming medal and proud posture

Now swims with the others, straining for a single breath.

 

The mast calls my name, groaning

And creaking on the sinking ship. The sails

Are long gone, the white sheets mere distant memories.

This ship is sinking, surrendering to the dark water.

Why doesn’t anyone teach sailors to swim?

 

My air becomes water, bubbles and water filling

The lungs. There they are, those mermaids of the sea.

But why don’t they call to me?

                                    If I close my eyes, will it all be over soon?

 

Will they not drown me?

Lug me to the depths like they did my comrades?

Rescue would be nice, or even a distraction

From the cold water. Even now as I sink

To the bottom, “I do not think that they will sing to me.”