Marie

Marie is a creepy poem that tells a tale of murder at sea. It is based on a song called “The S.S. Marie” written by Ed Ryan.

A long time ago, on the Caspian Sea,
We were working our trade on the S.S. Marie;
There were seven crew members, my Captain, and me.

Well, I served my dear Captain for much of my life,
But he wasn’t the same since the death of his wife,
‘Till his eyes, and his lips, looked like blades of a knife.

Well, he told me he speaks with the ghost of Marie,
And she says that she’s waiting for him in the sea.

So tonight, under guise of this treacherous storm,
With the crew locked below, so they cannot be warned,
We are sinking the ship, and Marie will be warm.

“The voices you hear are the devil,” I said,
“Do you think your departed would want us all dead?”
Then he aimed for the rocks, and his face grew bright red,
And he shouted, “She told me! She told me,” he said,
“Of the many a night that you came to her bed.”

Well, the air it got still for a moment or so,
As the men beat the doors that were locked down below,

Then he turned ’round, and pointed his pistol at me.
“But I love you, My Captain! This is madness you see!
For I never laid hands on your sainted Marie!”

Well, the rocks ripped the ship, and we were thrown to the floor,
And from there I cannot recall anything more,
‘Till I found myself unlocking drowning men’s doors.

Well I led them to safety, in a single lifeboat,
And we watched the ship sink as we laid there afloat.

“But what of our Captain?” The wounded men cried.
“He went down with his ship, as he should,” I replied.
I would not have them whispering of suicide.

Well they call me a hero, to this very year,
As I stay on dry land, and I stare into beer.
But they’ll never know my most secretive part,
Or the love for my brother, which tears me apart,
For he’s buried at sea with my knife in his heart.

A long time ago, on the Caspian Sea,
We were working our trade on the S.S. Marie;
There were seven crew members, my Captain, and me.