Sindbad The Sailor - Voyage 4 Poem by Shankaran Kutty

Sindbad The Sailor - Voyage 4



I realized soon that my promises
Of not another voyage were nought
For very soon I was on another one
Aware of the dangers fraught

This was doomed from the beginning
As we were hit by a violent squall
We thought we were blessed when
Near an island did the ship finally stall

On seeing where we had reached
The captain’s face went pale
Of hairy dwarfs and savages
He told us many a tale

And soon we were surrounded
His words were proved to be true
Savage dwarfs - from where
They came we had no clue

They proved themselves to be lithe
And climbed up the ship with ease
Cut the sail and cables
And showed no intent of peace

They pulled us close to the island
And disembarked us on the shore
And hauled our ship to another port
Where ships had piled up, many more

We thought the dangers passed
A palace we spied so far
Elegant and loftily built
Befitting a royal Czar

A shiver went up our spine
As we walked to the palace, close
Human skulls and roasting pits
Seeing which our bodies froze

Crashed open the palace doors
Made of the finest oak
And out came a giant ogre
Clothed in dark black cloak

Tall as a palm was he
On his forehead, his only eye
With ears like a pachyderm
He let out a frightful cry

He lifted me with utmost ease
Between his nails like talons
His eyes gazed at me
Sharp like a hunter falcon’s

Soon he let me down
And picked up one by one
Surrounded by the red men
We had no place to run

The captain being the fattest
He ran a spit through him
And roasting alive on the fire
Ate him like a chicken limb

Our minds craved for revenge
Against this animal brute
But the next day, another of us
Went down his alimentary chute

We took the sharpest spits
And burned them hottest red
And when the ogre slept
His eyes we gored till it bled

Screaming like a thunder roll
He ran out of the gate
We regrouped at the beach
To improve our dismal fate

Rafts we made for all
Working through the night
We knew we had to flee
No strength we had to fight

Each raft could hold us three
And were ready before dawn
We waited for the sun to rise
And then we would be gone

But at the early hours of daybreak
We saw the horrible sight
The ogre and more like him
Were advancing for a fight

We climbed into our rafts at once
And did our fastest row
But with huge boulders they did
Rain deadly blow after blow

The massacre didn’t last long
The end came about so swift
My raft was alone to survive
Hidden in morning mist

We rowed so fast and furious
Two days we spent at sea
Parched, hungry and tired
And island we spotted with glee

We slept like a log, did we
Till a slithering sound I heard
Inside a snake, my friend
I saw had gone in, a third

I couldn’t bear the sight
And with my only friend by me
We settled ourselves safe
On the branches of the tallest tree

Next day the snake came along
And slithered up the tree so fast
For my friend on the lower branch
Fate had decided, time had gone past

For all his trials he gives
God has his mercy on me
For next day I happily spied
A ship in the faraway sea

I set my turban on fire
And waved in desperation
No movement from the ships
Just increased my frustration

And to my joy I found
The ship turned its course
Not knowing what to expect
Disbelieving they came so close

I was jumping up and down
The sandy beaches of the isle
When I climbed aboard that ship
I could finally break into a smile

We visited many a place
And loaded with costly spice
Which coming back to Baghdad
I sold at a much higher price.

Thus did end my voyage three
Filled with dwarfs, ogres, snakes and more
But come my friend, be my guest
For the morrow, you will hear stories more

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