the arc bent slow in regular time.

 
the arc bent slow in regular time.  
i groped at the groaning of her mind  
 
like a tow -rope thru the echoes of the mouth  
 
for the reef was black as midnight can  
 
 
drink the iron ore and breathe the steam we leave.  
fragile as an iron dream.  
 
O traveler O but the hold is tired,  
 
and the waters wicked & green!  
 
 
i signed my name in seaweed  
as the ark bent to the beat,  
irregularly upon the bridge.  & all attempts  
at recovery hence, became cockney'd.  
 
reveler O reveler !  
            we believe the hull is iron,    
                  but the soul is wicker  
                        and the water is fire!  
 
            simpler still  
to fill the hole with shade enough  
            for the Grunts & Barracuda to bloom  
fat with the war & the rum that is our alibi.  
 
 
 what have you done, O Pelinaoin!?!  
 
      -but the reef was black we said!  down damned Bermuda  
 
where the drum is sunk in two,  
deep as hell, upon Saint David's Head and neck.  
 
 
the reef was black we said!  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*The Pelinaion was a Greek steamer, built in 1907 in Port Glasgow. At 385 feet long and with a displacement of nearly 4300 tons, she was known by several names as she went through different companies. On 22 December 1939, the Pelinaion left West Africa carrying manganese ore heading for Baltimore. However, as it was during WWII, the St David's lighthouse had been blacked out, and in a feat of military intelligence, no ships could be told this. By January 16 1940, the Pelinaion entered Bermudan waters and hit strong currents. Despite carrying an experienced captain, the Pelinaion ran aground and was wrecked. Part of her now sits straddled across two reefs, and so it is possible to actually swim under the wreck itself.  
 
** poem is not intended to be a factual representation of actual events.