I met a very old seafaring man
who told me a tale of the sea
I listened to him with interest
and it totally fascinated me.
One day out in the Atlantic
relaxing and doing no harm,
taking advantage of a clear blue sky
and the fact that the sea was so calm.
When suddenly out of nowhere
a cloud of fog seemed to appear,
a few hundred yards off the port side
but everywhere else was clear.
While waiting to see what would happen
a gust of wind threw up a spray,
wiping my eyes I looked again
and the fog cloud had gone away.
I suddenly looked to the starboard
saw a large ship approaching fast,
there was no time for me to do anything
for it's bow was touching the mast.
It was made of some kind of metal
enormously big and so tall,
and I wondered if the captain was mad
or he just didn't see us at all.
It seemed to cruise right through us
as though we weren't even there,
I watched the stern go out to sea
then disappear somewhere.
I tried to read the name of the ship
and I really tried my best,
but it's very hard to read that high
from the deck of the Mary Celeste.
A contest entry
- 'Phantom Ships at Sea' by Cynthia Gaines.
1200 points, ended August 7, 2008, 12 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Mystery and Imagination by knitonepearlone.
600 points, ended November 20, 2008, 10 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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Ahhh the great mystery of the Mary Celeste! Definitely one to stirr the imagination. Great rhyme scheme to tell this fascinating story. Thanks for entering!
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I really enjoyed this. I love the twist in the tail thing, it caught me unawares. I liked the way these lines wove a reality spell around the twist to hide it:
'and I wondered if the captain was mad
or he just didn't see us at all.'
Fab writing.
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Kind of bobbed along the waves as i read down this. It rhymes well and if anything it leaves the reader wanting to know more about this mysterious ship , good job with this
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wow
what a fascinating write..superb rhyme and flow..excellent imagery..and a great ghostly ending..what a unique twist..thanx so much for sharing and congrats on the much deserved trophy..blessings..namaste..
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Superb
A very fine write indeed. Imagery, rhythm and rhyme are just fine. Thanks for sharing this one with us, again well done. I became curious after reading this poem, so I looked for a reference to Ghost Ships on the Internet, and here is one that includes the ship you are talking about: http://www.gettysburgghosts.net/ghostships.htm
Here is a Wikipedia reference for you and others to click on:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_ships
I continued to become more curious, so this is the last and final reference I'll leave for you (It has pictures)
http://www.scaryforkids.com/ghost-ships/ -
Very Interesting Story!!!
This is an unusual poem with a strange twist... Thank you for sharing your ethereal imagination with all of us, and thanks also for entering "Ghost Ship" in our contest!!!
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I really love works about ships and stuff at sea. It was good and had good flow as all your poems do. Just one thing... harm and calm don't really rhyme... but you made it work, so, kudos! lol
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Ghost Ship
Thank you very much, your comments are always welcome, best wishes---Norman
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