Her silken song of wind and wave
Called unto those beyond the grave
"Awake!" she cried, "And come to play!"
"I've only 'till the break of day."
And to the shore the dead did come,
In groups of two and one by one
Once there they danced upon the sand
Whilst wicked waves served as the band.
A thousand corpses bobbed and swayed—
Cold bones ratt'ling a serenade
"Dance my children," I heard her shriek
And terror made my knees go weak
From the shadows I watched their throes
While a foul stench assailed my nose.
With my shirt up over my face,
I loosed my guts, to my disgrace.
Above the bluffs, I spent the night
Afraid I might just die of fright
And when the dawn at last did break
All the dead began to quake.
The power drained from empty eyes
As sunlight reached across the skies
Touched, she writhed upon the beach
Yet further still the beams did reach.
They swept across her gory crew
Who fell; puppets with strings cut through
I stood, transfixed as the tide rose
And shivered in my filthy clothes.
I watched the corpses float to sea
And knew no one would believe me
If I to them, did run and tell
About the night I spent in hell.
Because the water swept away
All evidence of their soiree
I lack the courage to be bold -
This pen's the only soul I've told.