The old man had sailed the seas and seen great many lands
But as of late he’d begun to feel the trickle of the sands

On his past endeavours he had seen the Mauro map
One more thing he longed to see before his health would sap

They said it was nothing but a drunken sailor serpent tale
They said they’d been around and only ever seen a whale

But he would not listen, for he was in the know
It is written down on vellum and therefore must be so

Here be dragons
Here be dragons

The old man knew all too well he would only have one shot
He sold his few belongings and schemed out his plot

The new-found route to India should take them about the isle
But no crew wants a dying man so he’d need all his guile

He feigned friends with their boatswain and got him pissing drunk
Followed home and knocked him out, locked him inside his own trunk

He stole his place on deck and boldly played his part
His mind and body driven by the words on the chart

Here be dragons
Here be dragons

On every long voyage there is calm and there’s some scorn
But those don’t mould the tales from which the legends are born

Three months on the sea, they landed for supplies
Natives warned great storm will rise, your ships sure to capsize

But as if to prove white man’s vanity and greed
“We got us some coin to make”, the captain, he paid no heed

On eve of the morrow, the clouds turn ominous dark
It’s too late to turn around, nowhere to disembark

[Storm]

It’s a pitch-black night, days lost in the storm when the sea delivers it’s blow
When a lightning strikes the mainmast thrice, sets fire to black powder below

The whole ship is ablaze, men jump to the deep in white agony from scorching flames
There’s a row of waves each taller than last as the ocean takes it’s claims

And on the ninth wave there’s a sickening crash as the pyre’s thrown aground
The burning rig snaps and takes to the air, the man sees just before he’s drowned

The smoldering wreck and a silver coin are found on a lonely shore
The entire crew has disappeared, it grows into a lore 

Here be dragons
Here be dragons
Here be dragons
Here be dragons

(c) Panu Matilainen 2020