Drabble - Old Ships

[mamazano]

Inspired by David Morton’s Old Ships

****

Their broken spars reach upward, like skeletal fingers in the moonlit sky. These once majestic ships, now wrecked and rent, lay scattered along the rocky shore, like long forgotten toys of would-be gods.

They say that old ships never really die; their souls forever ply the restless sea.

Comments

[equilibrium44]

Lovely.

And as a matter of fact they often do rise up again (as reproductions and show up at Tall Ship Festivals). A good thing for those of us who don't believe in ghosts. D

[mamazano]

Yes, they do. I have been on a few myself. Amazing reproductions.

I still believe in ghosts, though...

[mary684]

like long forgotten toys of would-be gods

That's a great image. This whole piece has a very dreamlike and lyrical quality, just skims the borders of the supernatural in a non-threatening, gentle way. Really like it! Good job!

[mamazano]

Thanks. I love that poem, and had plans to use it as a lead-in to one of my chapters of TGD. But, it fit so well with this prompt, I thought I'd give it a go.

[sharklady35]

This rings all too true.

I once walked along the keel of a wrecked ship, half-buried in sand on Cape Hatteras. And I swear on pain of death; I could feel the thing rocking as if it were still on water.

[mamazano]

Wow! That must have been eerie.

This is something that has been handed down over the years...folklore, or something more?

[sharklady35]

> Wow! That must have been eerie. <

Aye; it was. And that wasn't the only oddity I encountered those two summers I spent on Cape Hatteras.

'Tis said, the sea tends to make people superstitious. I can understand why.

[mamazano]

And that lends itself to all sorts of good ghost stories and other adventures.

Zombie pirates, anyone?

[geekmama]

Beautiful. Especially love the first line. Such a picture!

[mamazano]

Thank you. It is a haunting image, the graveyard of old ships.

Like Gibbs ones said, "Puts a chill in the bones..."

[this_weirdness]

Lovely... a really haunting image.

I recently went to see the wreck of the Mary Rose, and just being there sent shivers down my spine. There was something definitely spectral about it. I think you captured that with drabble. Good job! :)

[mamazano]

Amazing they were able to raise her! I would imagine that would be a haunting sight. And gives a whole new meaning to "batten down the hatches..."

Thank you!