Rage of the Sea
#16 of Poems
My take on the old tales and stories of the Kraken. More like a mashup of Kraken's, leviathans, and massive sea monsters. This poem will be in the poetry book I'm writing but may be altered or changed for the final version.
Silent king of the depths. The bane of all sailors who dare to travel near his great halls.
Each one more arrogant than the last. Each one believing that they shall be the ones to finally kill the Kraken.
Sail your ships and mark your charts. Sail to the ends of the earth until dark.
Travel by moonlight. Travel by starlight. Travel until you can no longer keep your eyes open.
Past the edge of the earth and beyond.
Close your ears to the enchanting tune of the sirens. Do not look upon the mermaids with alluring eyes and wickedness in their hearts.
Grab your hooks and grab your spears. Tend your nets and banish your fear.
For the Kraken knows you are near.
Will you be the one? The one who banishes the great monster from the depths?
Will you take revenge for family or friends? Will you seek the glory that only comes from defeating the greatest of sea monsters?
One dares to stand above all the rest. One dares to travel where all others fear to sail.
Past the sirens and mermaids. Beyond the sea dragons and water serpents.
Past schools of mythical fish large enough to feed his crew for months.
Ignore all temptation. Fight past all fear. Confront all dangers. Steadfast in a search for the last of his kind.
A captain who has traveled the world. Conquered the world. Charted lands that few people believe even exist.
A great ocean where the sun never rises and the waves travel under the light of an eternal moon.
Man the decks! Mind the sails! Grab your weapons, swords, and shields!
The time has come upon us! Fight for your lives! Fight for glory!
Fight the last Kraken to live upon the earth.
For the great captain has already slaughtered all the others.
The seas are safe again. Free for travel and exploration.
Only one last hurdle remains. Only one last beast to be taken care of.
Let the seas boil and let the monster roar. The captain fears not the warning at death's door.
For what is a beast before a man?
A monster before the best of hunters?
Proudly standing at the front of the ship. Spear and hook in hand.
The ocean boils as the great sea serpent comes to defend his land.
Large enough to sink a ship or eat several men whole.
Listen to the roar of men as they scream their defiance and pride.
Watch as the last of all the Kraken is speared and sliced in his side.
Fighting with dying breath to sink just one more ship. Instead it dies under nets and iron. Never to see the moon again.
Hear the laughter of men as they rejoice over their final trophy.
Proof of their victory and of oceans made safe from a tyrant.
Man the decks! Mind the sails! Our work here is done! We have won without fail!
But as the ship turns proudly under the bright light of the full moon...
...there comes an eerie sound in an all too familiar tune.
Watch the ships crew as they stare around in fright. Gazing upon the Kraken they had just slain that night.
How could there be another? It must be some foul trick.
Voices of pride turn to fear as the ocean explodes beneath their ship.
Ripping the proud vessel apart as if it were merely a twig.
Spears of iron meet spears of wood as the hunting ship meets its end.
Men desperately search for safety as the sea awakens beneath them.
Looming high above and rising from deep below comes a second Kraken that is a far more dangerous than any previous foe.
It rises above their heads illuminated by the moon. A monster that could devour not men but mountains and drive even armies to their doom.
As it lowers its great head to meet the captain's eyes, he realizes his mistake as he sees a reflection of his own demise.
The great king laying slain among the broken timbers of his ship was no king at all.
For his men have not been hunting not monsters but children. Each of their dying screams another pain of agony in the heart of the one who raised them.
Now the empress has come with all the rage of the sea and with eyes of hate she whispers what you could not see.
Men dragging innocent creaturesto their death. Laughing as they harvest them while they are still alive.
Killing off those who have rested peacefully in their ocean homes for centuries.
And when her children rose to protect the innocent they were hunted and slaughtered like mere witless beasts.
Just another trophy on a wall filled with blood stained glory.
Poison fills the water. Great ocean homes now lie broken and abandoned.
Still humans come even beyond the edges of the earth to take what does not belong to them.
For the first time the captain who thought his power so great sees himself as the ocean does.
He is no hunter but a murderer of children and now their mother has come to take her revenge.
For there is no force alive that can escape the rage of the sea.
Written July 5th, 2014