Sustained on the calm ocean’s bosom,
Ishmael clings to his friend’s coffin,
driftwood floating among the
apocalyptic wreckage.
Ishmael, the sole surviving member of the
Pequod’s crew, led to destruction by their captain’s
vengeful pursuit of the great white whale.
Guarding the unfathomable depths,
Leviathan still rules a world beyond
the boundaries of human strength and wisdom
Resigned to his fate, Ishmael drifts quietly,
sensing nothing but the sun’s warmth,
a gentle lapping of waves against
the life-saving coffin, and the susurration
of a mild breeze.
Another sound encroaches upon
the sea’s stillness, proclaiming Ishmael’s salvation.
A ship appears on the horizon,
the wind sighing in her sheets and sails.
Rachel weeps for her lost children.
Her tears come down like rain from heaven,
cleansing the shipwrecked sailor.
Safe aboard, the rescued Ishmael breaks his silence,
carving memories in scrimshaw.
“All are departed away. The great shroud of the sea
rolls over the
Pequod, her crew and Moby Dick.
I only am escaped... alone, to tell thee.” — Herman Melville,
Moby Dick
