Skull Atoll

canvas sails sigh in a stale breeze
slits in their sides smile ragged grins
dead men lie with daggers in their eyes

sun bleached skeletons hail the incoming tide
saluting those who ride the crimson dusk
darkening skies promise ill luck

fevered desires see salvation in hell’s hallowed halls
rowing headlong into an oceanic ossuary
a cove above a cathedral of catacombs

tattered sailors sought sanctuary here
shattered souls broken upon the rocks
bones scatter as they reach the dock

blood beaked gulls scatter, screaming
hurling insults they rise into the rusty sky
leaving their meal to its eternal rest

flesh hangs loosely on gaunt frames
a sepia trio scoured by scurvy and storm
washed ashore on rocks devoid of mercy

the gull cloud rises, white against a black noon sky
former oar slaves despair. paradise turned abattoir
sanctuary seen on the horizon. carpeted with death

corpses crunch beneath their steps
as the rain begins to lash the wrecks
seeking shelter slaves can never rest

lighting flash, thunder crash, a cleft ahead
dark grimace in the rocks, lined with jagged teeth
refuge glimpsed for fugitives at the end of hope

in a fugue they flee the unfurling hurricane
scattering warning signs in their wake they run
heedless of headless omens. headlong into the breach

the cave swallows them whole.
the sea claims its toll
the end credits roll