NUESTIA SENORA DE LA MERCEDES

NUESTIA SENORA DE LA MERCEDES

By Phillip Miller

The Odyssey dived into the blue in search of hidden treasure

It found a ship sunk years ago with gold, you could not measure.

Nuestia Senora de la Mercedes, went down in 1804,

Sunk by the British Navy, causing Spain to re-enter the war.

Six men leapt from that burning wreck before it slipped away,

Climbing aboard an old rowboat, they thought it their lucky day.

Under the cover of darkness, they drifted out of sight,

Unaware of what lay ahead, on that fatalistic night

They woke in the morning, the burning sun upon their faces

So made some lines to catch some food, from old belts and laces.

They fished at night and slept through the day, dreaming of freshwater.

Ten days passed, one went mad, swearing he’d seen his daughter.

He laughed and joked and started to fit, sadly the poor wretch died

They committed his body to the sea and the youngest sailor cried.

“We must be strong, Carlos my lad, or our maker we’ll surely meet”

“We’re  going to die anyway Sir, as there’s not enough to eat.”

“Tell you know, we’ll make a pact if you can get this round your head.

We’ll drink the blood and eat the flesh of any man that’s dead.”

“Be damned you, butcher, I’d rather die, than feast upon a mate.”

But, as the others agreed, for Carlos it was too late.

As he lay in the sun, with his face all burnt and chapped

The first in charge put his hands around his throat, choking him as he napped.

In came a storm, tossing them high, so under the water, they went.

Only three came up, and one smiled, as down to the depths he was sent

30 days passed till they spotted land and with the current riding them in.

They fell on the shore, looked up to the sky, thanking God for the strength within.

But something was wrong with this plush little isle, all was not as it seemed.

A dark native, with a spear in hand, looked down and broadly beamed.

“You are so thin, but I’ll tell my kin, and we’ll eat you for our tea

We’ll roast you with roots, and fresh bamboo shoots, you Devils from the sea.”

Trussed up like pigs and taken away, they were basted with oils and seeds

Covered in clay, except for their heads, which were wrapped in tasty seaweeds.

The fires burnt long and ever so slow, so painfully did they cook

Finally, they died, and out fell their eyes, swiftly gobbled up by a rook.

Their flesh was eaten and their bones were beaten against an old skin drum,

To ward off sea devils and please their God, washing them down with old Navy rum.

They say this tale is as old as the hills

But no trace has ever been found

Yet on an island across the seas

There stands a manmade mound

And in a cage upon that earth

Guarded by the village ladies

lies a tattooed drum inscribed

Nuestia Senora de la Mercedes.

Copyright Phillip Miller