Frederick And Geraldine (Part 18) Poem by Marieta Maglas

(Fargo put the body of Bella in a mantle and took her on his shoulders. He left Chiara, Francesca, Rosa and Pedra ashore and went together with Geraldine, Maya, Carla, Erica and Naimah's son to find a village. The name of Naimah’s son was Surak.)



It looked like a long beach with a rocky shore and a hidden
Cove; they turned right walking along the sandy beach; at the far
End of the beach, they saw a galley, but it was forbidden
To follow the path leading to the shore, ''I'll ask where we are, '' ''



Said Fargo, while looking through a telescope, ''What do you see? ''
''There's one man standing on the deck; he's the companion
Of that pirate following us and traveling for free.''
''How do you know this thing? '' ''I worked for him in the devil's canyon.



The flag has a boom skull, '' ''Let's go, '' said Geraldine, ''The pirates
Are coming from this ship, '' said Fargo, ''I must set it on fire.''
While sneaking to that deck, he killed one by one the pilots
And the third sailor; he thought, ’’ Frederick is caught in a snare.’’




Fargo took the little treasure from that ship and those two maps
Showing the place from where the treasure had been taken
And the island where they intended to hide it; perhaps
It was a known place, which has been visited and forsaken.




He did not set the ship on fire because he was afraid
That its flames could be seen by the pirates; he did not sink it,
'Cause they could dive to the sea's bottom to find the treasure's shade.
To make them think that one of them betrayed was in a fit.




Fargo took one of their boats and returned to the shore.
Then, they continued to go while avoiding the main path.
They stopped walking to look at the seagulls starting to soar.
They entered an old olive grove shining in the daylight bath.




Following their narrow route to the right, they found a fragrant
Grove of tall eucalyptus trees; they saw the shepherds' trail,
Which was cobbled and flanked by some stonewalls, '' Our life became vagrant, ''
Said Carla; Erica replied, '' my strength begins to fail.''




'' Look at these flowers of asphodel! They are beautiful, ''
Said Maya; Erica replied, '' these dark cypress trees are
An inviting resting place; '' you must be powerful, ''
Said Fargo, '' because to find a village, we have to go far.''




At the top of this rocky land, they turned left and entered
A small, agricultural zone that was planted with
Cereals and had some plots of chickpeas in its center.
Some goats were drinking water from a reservoir, ''It's a myth, ''




Said Surak; they drank water together with the goats
And washed their faces; after crossing the road, they saw
The church tower of the village near the plots of the oats.
They bought an old stone manor house when the night started to draw.



(Fargo went to find a priest for the funeral of Bella. He came back with a promise for the next day. They started to eat in silence.)

(To be continued…)

Poem by Marieta Maglas