A Captain's Eulogy
“De sea...
She 'as been kind an' gracious te our sinful souls. She 'as carried us oot of de strait an' into 'er open waves; she 'asn't led us astray.
Yet, 'er good graces are met wiff a hefty price, lads. She 'as borne away one o'our best; a man wrought by salt an' dirtied wiff duty. She 'as taken 'im from us an' leaves us e'er more dependent upon 'er moods.
"Jim... he were my first mate, my best mate; an' I know he were yers, too.
So, bow yer heads, lads, an' 'member 'im fer 'is duty an' good shot. Observe de rites o' dis wake, an' pray fer Jim's soul; he may be yer savin' grace when ye join 'im an' Davey Jones...
"Bless ye Jim. Res' wiff de sea, an' may God 'ave mercy on yer soul.
Amen.”
By: Renada Styles
Very nice story here. I like it! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the image of a funeral at sea, not as the portrait of a rich affair, but as the result of a tragic end of life aboard a poor ship, possibly a whaler of yore. I did have some trouble with the language - the apostrophes were distracting. I thought you actually captured the language really well by reproducing the rhythm of the words, like "he were yours too".
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to type a dialect up successfully but you've got this spot on. I have a very clear voice in my head and it really adds to what is already a very good story. Thanks for linking up with us and we hope you can join us at the weekend too.
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