Funayūrei

The next thing I knew I was over the side

The black waters rose up to enfold me

The cold night without

Became the inner night of the ocean's depths

The endless expanse of water

That would become my tomb

My head broke the water's freezing surface

The ship that bore me already receding

To a distant point

On the bleak, storm ravaged horizon

Marooned among the towering waves

Suddenly alone, utterly lost

The waters closed above my pleading lips

Encased in silence my body descends

Towards the locker

Sparks and flashes from dying Neurons

Images from birth to grave

Tears lost at sea

Here's the good ship Francesca

Its business is your pleasure

Her captain will make your voyage a joy

That's certain by any measure

It cuts through the mighty Atlantic

Searching for the Northern Lights

With days of relaxation and shopping

Followed by crazy party nights

Has anyone seen daft old Jim

Who tells stories of his novelty shed

He knocked back a right old skinful

Before he excused himself to bed

We'd better go and check he's alright

Last night was blowing up a storm

He might have fell and banged his head

Before he managed to find his dorm

Jim!  There you are, daft old goat!

Recovered from your evening's repast?

You need to get some food in your belly

Let's go and get some breakfast

You're awfully quiet this morning

Has the hangover got your tongue?

Let's have some hair of the dog

That'll bring back a sense of fun!

Jim, I never took you for a soup fan

That ladle would feed the whole crew!

Don't have the lot you greedy thing

There's more mouths to feed than just you!

"I don't call this a ladle," said Jim coldly

"The true word for this thing is 'hishaku'

It is the tool with which my vengeance

Shall be brought down with fury upon you

"You'll never eat again," pronounced the man with grey skin

"It's not soup but the ocean this thing dishes

For the ocean has judged and found you guilty

And now you're going down to join the fishes

For I fell overboard and was left

I screamed for help, and nobody came

Think on that, when Davy Jones comes for you

And remember that you die in shame"

In truth that was not Jim that stood there

In his place stood a Funayūrei

A name whispered in fear by the eastern folk

A ghost for a soul lost at sea

And from the hishaku as he called it

A flood of saltwater came streaming

And the passengers turned and fled in terror from that place

Filling the ship with their screaming

---

In the cold grey morning I watch, impassive

The last survivors calling out, helpless

Just as I was

Mere specks in an endless valley of water

That rises and falls

And slowly consumes them

Quieter now, they are disappearing one by one

Down to the same place

Becoming as I

Their struggles fade, their spirits bow

Hope fails at last

Silence descending

I remain by the grave

A new sister

Is standing by my side

We depart

Further judgements await

The waves continue, eternal