MURDER IN DISTANT LANDS

A captive tribesman told to me

How many ships that went to sea

Wound up on ancient coral reefs,

Their crews devoured by wild beasts.

I used to lie awake and wonder

If what he said was true.

A captive tribesman said he saw

A twenty-masted man-of-war

Sail out from fair Atlantis Isle.

He said he stood and waved a while.

I used to sit for hours and wonder

If what he said was true.

A captive tribesman told me when

He and his fellows lived on men

They found washed up upon the shore.

He said he’d eaten five or more.

I used to gasp, my mouth wide open,

If what he said was true.

My father said the man was mad

And though I really trusted Dad

I thought about those pointed teeth

And how those sailors came to grief

And I am still inclined to think

That what he said was true.