The Ghost Ship Poem by LONDIS CARPENTER

They sailed out of Miami
Aboard the Southern Light
Headed for Sunset Island at
A place called Key West Bight

When suddenly a mist appeared
Filling a cloudless sky
The sea began to churn and boil
The compass spun awry

Their hearts began to flutter as
Their minds were filled with fear
There seemed no explanation for
For the thing that would appear

The lightning flashed; the moon turned dark
Then came an evil sight
Out of the sky a ghost ship sailed
That cast an eerie light

Unlike a craft that men might build
With neither rig nor tower
No sound of grinding engines
No oarsmen to give power

She silently hung in the air
Moved With no observed force
She followed without error every
Time they changed their course

And like the Ghost that haunted them
There still seemed to persist
The cloud that now surrounded them
That evil yellow mist

There are no words that can describe
The chilling taste of fear
The kind of fear that robs men's souls
Of all that they hold dear

But I can tell you plainly how
Five sailors weighed with fright
Lost all their nerve that fateful day
Aboard the Southern Light

With the radio not working
And the compass failing too
The southern Light was lost at sea
Along with her whole crew

But then the ghost ship disappeared
And sky returned to norm
It seemed three hours of troubled sea
Had left the men forlorn

But when the crew was safe on shore
To tell their tales of their dangers
Twelve years had passed since they'd left home
Their families now were strangers