NIGHTMARE VOYAGES

NIGHTMARE VOYAGES, by Jennifer Crow, Art by Gary McClusky

 

 

On the storm’s third night, winds

howling through torn sails

and waves washing across

the tilted deck, the sleepless crew

stumbles from rail to line

as the captain screams

with profane desperation

into the teeth of the gale. None

of the men has seen his bunk

since the clouds heaped up

dark as a pile of coal overhead,

dark as a betrayed god’s oath

against the one who mocked

and blasphemed—the one

who holds the wheel and the fate

of all the crew in his callused

hands, the one who still laughs

at the thought of vengeance

beyond earth.

Bone-weary, chilled

to the marrow, the crew staggers

and curses and wipes slippery palms

on ragged clothes in hopes of gripping

the line and not losing the mainsail.

Their eyes may be open, but time

has ceased to keep a steady pace

and the mind plays cruel tricks, hints

of land ahead, wisps of mist like flocks

of shore birds, a sound in the ear

that might be a foghorn or a bell

turning into the scream of a man swept

overboard and lost, his head never breaking

the churning water again. Still the men

watch, rope at the ready, ignoring

the captain’s bellowing rage

until he’s among them, fist clenched

in the cabin boy’s collar, threatening to throw

the smallest of them into the deep as well.

The bo’sun catches his arm

and points out into the storm’s

bared teeth, where shreds of cloud

resolve into a schooner, its sleek lines

blurred by rain, its sails reefed

and main mast broken, a faint light

trembling along its flanks

like a wild animal seen in the gloaming.

The cabin boy asks if he’s dreaming

and chokes on his question

as the captain’s grip tightens, tightens.

He knows better than any what lies ahead

and knows this nightmare calls for him

in particular but not alone. He heaves

the boy overboard, telling the men

a worse fate awaits them, no fit eternity

for a child. They don’t remember

the ghosts boarding their ship, shadows

bucking in the wind like pirates’ flags.

only half-waking existence after, when storms

call them up from the depths and they dream

of sailing again, driven by the night

and the wind, and the rage of the gods.

 

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Shy and nocturnal, Jennifer Crow has rarely been photographed in the wild, but it’s rumored that she lives near a waterfall in western New York. You can find her poetry on several websites and in various print magazines including Asimov’s Science Fiction, Uncanny Magazine, The Future Fire, among others. She’s always happy to connect with readers on her Facebook author page or on twitter @writerjencrow.

 

Gary McCluskey has been a professional artist for more than 20 years. He’s done book covers for every genre imaginable from fantasy, horror, romance and sci-fi to an afterlife memoir, as well artwork for children’s books and RPG games. Recently he completed 4 issues of comic book about a vampire-shark and several interior illustrations for a new hardcover version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ ‘The Oakdale Affair’. He’s currently working on a creator owned comic book ‘The Dawn Hunters’ for the near future.