The Lighthouse

A poem from my chapbook: Dr. Herod's Spellbound Readings - The Maribel Caves.

I met a weathered man as old
as the lake of Michigan.
He keeps Kewaunee's lighthouse lit,
he says as long as he can.
"I'm not goin' anywhere,
until God take me home.
I'm stayin' here as long as the winds
and waves are seethin' foam."
He goes by Elbie Scirvener,
some call him Skinner,
cause he's always filleting fish,
every day for dinner.
He lives a lonely life, you know.
But he's determined to.
He says it's for security...
if only people knew.
The cargo ships that sail the lake
still rely on the light,
to know the danger of the shore,
to keep away at night.
But Elbie knows another way
the beacon's rays protect,
they keep at bay the sailor's ghosts
that on the lake shipwrecked.
They nightly try to come aground,
to haunt the docks and bars,
to trim the town in slimy seaweed,
and leave ailwives in the cars.
A crew of mischievous men they are,
with no respect for land.
They'll damage any house or lot,
and bury it in sand.
Retired ex-captain Scrivener
credits the light and horn
for turning back sea-faring ghosts,
as they were always warned --
"Approach the light, it will be your end,
to the darkness return.
The horn will tend your funeral,
repent and head astern."

Reviews

[W.k.kortas]

This is narrative poetry of the highest order--wonderful voice, the pacing and feel of speech. Top-shelf stuff.

[Emily B]

Ahhh, Dr. Herod's Spellbound Readings - The Maribel Caves. I remember those. Remembering is nice. Especially when it comes to characters met briefly before.