Sindbad The Sailor - Voyage 5 Poem by Shankaran Kutty

When it came the fifth time around
I decided I would take greater care
To the best seaport I travelled
Carrying the costliest ware

I knew I could not afford
Another mistake to incur
As a captain myself, I thought
Those mistakes, would prevent recur

I ordered a new one be built
From the wood of the finest Cedar
Built strong with a royal finish
That people should ‘wow’ from far

As the ship was being built
I hired the local crew
And hiring the very best
Started sailing the ocean blue

The weather had been never so bright
And wind just enough for the sails
As from island to island we went
Selling our silk, and cotton bales

When, on a day so particularly hot
We stopped for our cans to get filled
At an island with no living soul
But with waters so clear and chilled

And just as we were about to embark
A Roc’s egg about to hatch
We spied on the deserted beach
For some it was a priceless catch

They pulled out the emerging roc and then
Roasted on the fires till well done
With a bit of spice and lot of wine
They gorged on the roc, one by one

The sun was suddenly hidden from view
As if behind a cloud
We looked up to see two clouds looming near
And bellowing out so loud

The adult Rocs loomed over the ship
Searched for their little one
They searched for the broken shells
Evidence they did get none

They flew away into the distant sky
As we heaved a sigh of relief
But couldn’t believe the two Rocs would
Suppress with ease their grief

A couple of hours were all it took
As we were in the open sea
The story forgotten, and like fools we thought
From the Rocs, we did truly flee

They returned with two mighty boulders
Held between their feet
They circled the ship, taking aim
We knew we would soon be dead meat

The first one missed, but the second one
Did split the ship into two
Quickly it sunk into the ocean depths
Survivors it left, were few

I held on to the nearest plank
That swept me to the nearest shore
Clear flowing brooks, green carpet grass
And fruits for a generation and more.

I ventured then a little more deep
Across the meadows and shrub wood
To check if this island did indeed hold
Other rich sources of food

And lo behold! On a rock nearby
I saw a man, with a sack, very old
To keep slipping off the rick did he
A vine, very feebly hold

No replies he gave to my questions
Yet indicated by sign
To carry him across the narrow brook
On the strong shoulders of mine

I bent down and he reached out to me
He effortlessly climbed on my back
Hands around shoulders, legs on hip
And still holding on to his sack

We crossed the brook and a fair distance
But no word I heard from him
Around my neck he tightened the hold
With his hands – so strong though slim

He now stuck on to me so strong
That I felt my breath give way
My head went into a dizzy spin
And on the ground I soon did lay

I woke up many an hour later
And found he still had his hold
My fall and thus my surrender
Had made him even more bold

His legs now rolled around my waist
He made me do his will
Made me walk through the fruit-laden trees
And his stomach he soon did fill

And from the vines hanging down
Calabash melons, I did spy
Mixing its juice along with grapes
In a cask I kept on the sly

A week or two then did go by
The old man still on my shoulder
I opened the cask and it quickly spread
Of rich wine, its sweet odour

I gave the old man a little swig
And he soon began to sing
It was his first gulp of the spirit
And his legs began to swing

The spirit pleased his palate no end
And he asked me to give him more
As his hold around me slowly loosened
I hastily threw him on the floor

As helpless he lay in his senseless stupor
On his head I brought down a big stone
It led him to his painful death
Till he died I heard him groan

Free from the troubles of the thankless man
Happy, I walked to the beach
And waited till to refill their stores
Another ship did reach

From the crew I heard the story
Of the “Old man by the sea”
How for every man who fell in his clasp
Death was their certain destiny

The ship’s hold we filled with coconuts
Which on the isle were found in heap
And back on the ship it was time for me
To get a well-deserved, long sleep

On the way back we stopped to rest
At an island by the name, Comari
Where we exchanged the coconuts in our holds
For spices, as much as we could carry

Thus did end my voyage five
I met Rocs and an old man who gave troubles galore
But come my friend, be my guest
For the morrow, you will hear stories more