Here Be Dragons

By luigi_pagano

Mon, 16 Mar 2020

3433 reads

10 comments

2 likes

Captain Nemo and me

are going to explore

the bottomless sea,

in a submersible

that he calls Nautilus.

It is a sturdy vessel

with large portholes

which allow us to see

fish and marine growth.

But the journey is perilous.

We heard that monsters

lurk in the deep abyss;

they said, “Here be dragons.”

It is an old warning

that we won't dismiss.

We are in, looking out,

and we have no doubt

that we are safe inside

as we slowly descend

to the ocean's deep end.

But the nagging fear

that danger isn't far

forces us to question

if everything is fine

under the thermocline.

Lots of creatures exist

above the seabed,

at a depth of one thousand

fathoms or more,

but they're hard to spot.

Many hide in the dark

like the Vampire Squid

or the Frilled Shark

and none as odd

as the Giant Isopod.

Our exploration ends

with no monsters in sight

but the pulchritude of fish

that the bathyscaphe's light

has revealed tonight.

Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

2 Users voted this as great feedback

No doubt inspired

Permalink Submitted by Tom Brown on Mon, 2020-03-16 11:06

No doubt inspired by Jules Verne's classic scifi novel 20,000 leagues under the sea. Also makes one think of Jacques C. and the research ship the Calypso.

Good work, original too! We are in, looking out, man and fish roles reversed! Who's who in the zoo?

All the best Luigi have a good week! Tom Brown

Hi Tom.

Permalink Submitted by luigi_pagano on Mon, 2020-03-16 11:45

Hi Tom.
Many have been inspired by Jules Verne's classic novel and by the exploits of oceanographers like Cousteau and Jacques Piccard who first designed a bathyscaph.
The image of people looking through the porthole of such a vessel was indeed what inspired this answer to the I.P.
Thanks for reading it and for the lovely comment.

Best wishes, Luigi.

1 User voted this as great feedback