A Fare Duly Paid Poem by Göran Gustafsson

When times were hard and heavy
A messenger was born
To speak the truth to falsehood
In the name of the forlorn

He set out for the the Highway
With only a carpet bag
To find the deep blue ocean
And a shore with sands and crag

The time of tide had come
For the ship to go to sea
To sail forbidden waters
And undreamed shores to be

In gold and silver pieces
The fare was duly paid
And in his cabin fast asleep
The fate on him was laid

Afar the foghorn growled
For all them weary souls
There was no way of knowing
For whom the Bellman tolls

The wind and then the sailors
Began to weep and wail
To sounds of squeaking timber
In a ship about to fail

The first of seals was opened
The ship rode foamy waves
Behold the bolts of thunder
Flashing for the slaves

The tempest was upon them
He was cast into the sea
And then a sudden stillness
That no one could forsee

Then slowly he descended
Into the underworld
And in the slimy water
The seaweeds round him curled

He saw the maw of hell
With all its pangs and pains
And bowed his head in prayer
Oh Lord, unload our chains

And as the oily calmness
Was laid upon the wave
He from this place of doom
Was raised, as from a grave

Copyright © 2013 Göran Gustafsson. All rights reserved