Marooned - (a dual ending)

There was mist up high on the mountain

There were bones along the shore,

And a line of caves that met the waves

Around that evil tor,

There were screeches in the forest

But they weren’t from parakeets,

And the heavy sound of breathing

Late at night, and from the deeps.

 

While the waters round this island

Seemed to mutter from the reef,

When the tide would urge them forward

They would pile and then retreat,

It was if it was forbidden

For the waves to beat the shore

As an ancient Atavism

Gave out its primal roar.

 

So we camped out there on the beaches

Within sight of Hartley’s wreck,

That the reef had torn a hole in,

There was water to the deck,

It sat forlorn on a sandbar

Within reach, when the tide was low,

We hadn’t a plank so the vessel sank

And we had nowhere to go.

 

We lived on fish that we netted,

We traced out ‘Help’ on the sand,

We hoped that a plane from overhead

Would rescue our little band,

There was John who was the bosun,

There was Jane who cooked and chored,

Myself for the navigation,

And Hartley, that made four.

 

But seven others were lost at sea

Were afloat beyond the reef,

The tiger sharks had left their marks

With their cruel razor teeth,

So we kept a silent vigil

With the single flare we had,

And hoped that Keith would bring relief

In the merchant ‘Iron Clad’.

 

(for alternative ending, jump to *)

 

‘We need to go in the forest,’

Said Jane in a bleak despair,

‘We need to find what fruit and berries

Might just be growing there.’

So John went off with a bucket

As the sun began to rise,

But soon was back, he had been attacked

And was missing both his eyes.

 

‘A thing rose up in the forest,

It had no shape or form,

It just looked black but it still attacked

And I felt my face was torn,

It had a gutteral growl as old

As the earth that formed this place,

A sense of aeons before the storm

That created the human race.’

 

He died that night with a whimper,

With everyone else asleep,

I began to shake as this evil shape

Was taking him up the beach,

It dragged him into the forest,

Food for its larder there,

And I so scared and unprepared

That I fired our only flare.

 

It lit the heavens above us,

It lit up the sand, and then

It lit the trees in the forest

And the bones of other men,

When Hartley woke with a curse and spoke

The most welcoming words he had,

As Jane got up from her sleep, he cried,

‘By God, there’s the ‘Iron Clad!’

 

(Alternate ending from *)

 

When Hartley woke in the morning

We saw he had gone quite mad,

For John lay dead with a bleeding head

And a wound where he’d been stabbed,

While Jane took off and ran up the beach

To shelter in one of the caves,

And I was forced to listen to him

Engaged in one of his raves.

 

He was blaming John for wrecking the ship

And blaming me for the tack,

‘You were the Navigator, Jim,

So what do you say to that?’

I said that the fog was thick and deep

When we drove up onto the reef,

‘And you should have been up on the deck

Not down in a drunken sleep!’

 

He went for me with the rusty blade

He’d used already on John,

But I was younger and far too quick

As he came stumbling on,

I wrestled him to the ground and found

The knife had entered his side,

Then belching blood on the sand he cursed,

Lay on the beach, and died.

 

When I went to look for Jane I heard

A single scream in the cave,

Where a giant octopus held her,

I was just too late to save,

It’s tentacles were ten feet long

And were wrapped around her frame,

Though I slashed and cut off three of them

She was dead before I came.

 

So I wandered back to the lonely beach,

The only one alive,

My heart so low at this latest show

That I thought of suicide,

But then out there in my bleak despair

I fired the flare we had,

And there, beyond the reef I saw

The shape of the ‘Iron Clad’.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[ANTO]

"While the waters round this island
Seemed to mutter from the reef,
When the tide would urge them forward
They would pile and then retreat,
It was if it was forbidden
For the waves to beat the shore
As an ancient Atavism
Gave out its primal roar." - David, me old china plate - this is some of the most eloquent and clever writing I've read on WC - a real cut above! I mean; the imagery of waves having to be herded like hesitant, protesting, fearful teams of white horses is just mind expanding.
- i jumped to the alternative ending and found myself cheering for the survivor - despite the carnage that had transpired minutes before - I must need my head checked (again!! lol)

I loved the offer of alternate endings - really brought me back to books I read as a 11-13 year old in the school library that had multiple endings - great memories and a great write here my friend. Top notch!

[TPK Stories]

Interesting with 2 alternate endings.

[R Smith]

interesting David, i thought the first ending i read was going to be the best, where Jane was taken by the octopus but the second i read was equally as good so thanks for the quandary either way its a really great poem :)

[Marie]

I read both ending and liked the alternate ending better. Although both were gory enough. The first endng left more people alive, but the second ending made for a more dramatic story.

[MomzillaNC]

Brilliant. I love it with either ending. It's two exceptional tales.

[Valentine]

Terrific write. Jim survives which ending any one prefers. The second had much more drama and I enjoyed it the best. I love reading your writes David. Guess I am hooked on your tales. Valentine

[Zahra]

Enjoyable read, liked both the endings. Amazing.

[Ehra Khan]

A very interesting read sir! It's as good as watching a movie! I have to stack up popcorn next time u put up something like this! it's got remarkable rhythm and flow! Too good:)

[Satan]

Reminds me of reading goosebumps when I was a kid haha. I always enjoy your poems, thanks for sharing.