Her Fantome lingers

Our friend has been taken from us,
by the wind, the waves, God, the storm, fate:
regardless by whom it is not just.
The sun can no longer stroke her
she is out of it's reach.
She rests now in the cold and clammy embrace
of the mother of all waters.
No longer will she roam the surface
the ocean bed is her final dock.

Our cabins are filled with sea water,
her hull is dark and quiet.
The halls and decks that once echoed with our laughter
are wet and cracked.

Her rigging broke
when she hit the bottom
falling, floating down faster
and faster but not moving.
Each moment held like a photograph
as the waters parted beneath her.
One moment here
gone the next.
If anyone could have seen her massive beauty
disappear in less than a breath surely they could not help but weep.
But all human eyes closed with her.
Where is she now?
Our eyes can search the horizon endlessly
but they will only see her again in our dreams.

-Amanda Parla-