The Parchment Scroll

From the time the land had fallen away

He could only see the sea,

And the billowing sails, the wooden rails

And the halyards, struggling free,

While a silence gathered beyond the creak

Of the masts, that seemed quite odd,

As up in the crows nest he could see

The massive domain of God.

 

For out to the far horizon, there

Was nothing to catch the eye,

But the heaving swell that he knew full well

And the vast expanse of the sky,

They merged in a distant thin blue line

On the curvature of the earth,

That disappeared as the evening fell

And the stars were given birth.

 

And there in the glow of the hanging lamp

He heard the bells of the watch,

As they hauled on the final moonraker

Above the sky sail, top,

The bow bit in to the salty swell

As the frigate picked up speed,

And dipped and sprayed on the carronade

In a race for a monarch’s need.

 

For down below was a courier

Locked in by a cabin door,

Who carried a secret parchment scroll

God speed to a distant shore.

Dressed as a pale midshipman, but

In truth, and without a lie,

The courier was a fretful girl

And the crew would have wondered, ‘Why?’

 

Why take a girl on a Naval ship

Who would bring bad luck to the crew?

Nobody was supposed to know,

But he in the crows nest knew.

He’d seen her shower in a secret place

He could see from the top of the mast,

But kept his lip, for he knew the ship

Would be wrecked if the crew had guessed.

 

She came on out for a breath of air

Just after he came off watch,

Deep in the dark of the after deck

With the gun deck all awash,

A giant wave swept her to the rail

So he seized, and held her tight,

As the water dripped from her frightened face

And her hair shook out in the night.

 

‘Pray sir, don’t let them discover me,

I am only here for the King,’

He smiled at her in the darkness, said:

‘You must grant me just one thing,

A tender kiss from your perfect lips

And I swear, I’ll let you be.’

She said, ‘You swear?’ and she kissed him then,

But a grumble rose from the sea.

 

And thunder off in the distance rolled

As the girl then turned and fled,

Back to her locked in cabin then,

Back to her cabin bed.

But lightning flashed, and a thunderbolt

Crashed over the masts and stays,

While the lightning flash destroyed the mast

Where he’d spent so many days.

 

The crew were cutting the mast away

And cast it over the side,

While he hung on to a rail and stay

As the ship tossed in the tide,

A shadow rose from the deep that night

A demon known to the crew,

‘There must be a woman here on board,’

They screamed, ‘but nobody knew!’

 

The seaman went to her cabin door

Then knocked, and she let him in,

‘Your secret’s out, you’ll have to leave

If you want to save your skin.

I’m going to let out the painter now,

And set you out in a boat,

I’ll join you there if I can, I swear

For this ship won’t stay afloat.’

 

And somewhere out in that great domain

That God has kept for his own,

There floats a tiny clinker boat

With a couple, all alone.

The frigate lies in the heaving deep

On the bed of a fretful sea,

One kiss had cost a King his throne

And the loss of a colony.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Marie]

A woman on board such a ship is always bad luck, and the king should have known that. Now the ship is destroyed because of it, and all those lives. I suppose all would have been saved if she'd been tossed overboard, but of course the midshipman couldn't have done that.

[TL Boehm]

another fascinating and cautionary tale from the master. Hats off to you. Beautiful language in this. Longfellow would be proud.

[TPK Stories]

I have no words to describe this tale, I enjoyed reading this. . .

[Colorado Brian]

my writing isn't even good enough to write a worthy review of this masterpiece

[Valentine]

Wonderful and so interesting, truthful as old time sailors were very leery... a great tale David,I think you must have lived in olden times. Kathie

[David Lewis Paget]

I did live in olden times, Kathie. They were called the 1940's - Lol.

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A most extremely perfected piece with a strong story and outcome, well done.

[Jennie Baron]

I have little to say except to agree with Richard and Momzilla. This is close to perfect and I like it a lot! Entertaining story and solidly written verse at the same time.

[R Smith]

another amazing tale from you David, its good to have your stories here, nobody tells them like you do :)

[MomzillaNC]

You amaze me. You weave such breathtaking tales! Your meter and imagery in this one put me in mind of Lewis Carroll.