Old Cap'n Smith and The Fifty Slaves

Blistering winds amidst the crashing waves,
The lightning strikes,
The thunder raves,
Ol' Cap'n Smith looks upon his crew,
A shoddy bunch of inexperienced men,
With the eyes of young lads,
Frozen in fear,
Shaking legs,
Unused to the dangers of the world,
Awaiting the decision of the Captain,
Entrusting their lives to him,
As if he were the god Poseidon of the seas,
The captain knows his duty is to save them,
These children that have not yet had the chance to fully live,
But the cost at which their lives shall be salvaged,
He is not willing to pay.

The crew man the sails as best they can,
Water slowly leaking onto the ship,
Increasing the density,
They start to sink,
One way to decrease the weight of the ship,
A last recourse,
Abandonment of the fifty slaves taken from far off lands,
The scarred black creatures that lay under the deck,
Being taken to a life of bondage,
Old Smith wonders in the last moments before his decision,
Considering the suffering and pain these people will endure,
At the hands of his fellow men upon land,
Is it not better to give them an early respite,
To bury them in watery graves,
To save the lives of these ship working knaves?

He gives the order,
His heart beleaguered with regret,
The slaves are gathered on deck standing bare and chained,
Eyes focused on old Smith,
As if they know their fate,
One by one they are tossed overboard,
Not a single one attempts to break his restraint,
Acceptance of death by those who have done no wrong,
To save the ones that wrong them,
Instructions shouted out of the course to the motherland,
The crew overjoyed at the predicament being solved,
Rushing back to their posts,
Nobody manages to note,
The old captain walking the plank,
Unable to forgive himself for his sin,
He gives himself to the wicked seas,
Joining those that he sacrificed in meagre atonement,
Dragged down to the aqueous hell.

They say sometimes if you're way out at sea,
And a storm comes by and happens to catch thee,
If you stare deep into the watery depths,
You can see the ghost of Old Cap'n Smith,
And the fifty slaves whose lives he chose to forfeit.