Whence it came

Whence it came it did not say unwelcome it decided to stay Like a ghost it seem to float in the air glance twice and was it ever here From the land where the sea foam sprays the morning moon mist slithers away Coolness glides as seabirds nest remains of ruins dot the coast like buttons on a vest Ancients once sailed these seas to faraway lands they plunder with greed Swords of steel that gleamed in the sun slashed and gashed the helpless ones Back as salves their woman and child to a harsh land they never again smiled Life was short and the journey wild fury of the seas swallowed all in a relentless swell Now my company this thing not dead but a aberration of what once lived Without a word I heard it all and knew of their greatness and their fall I did not speak but it knew my fear and what it wanted for me was unclear I opened a jar of deep ruby red glass and it was drawn into it with the lid I clasped Storing it on a shelf above the fire place and soon from memory thoughts of it erased Over the years dust layered the red and rust bore holes into the lid I thought of it in a moment's flash and went to the shelf to gather the glass But it was empty and dry inside it has seeped away by and by Dreams of people long in the past to the seas my soul is cast With sword in hand I hit the shore to innocence I bring murderous war These images haunt me with their pain now I know from whence I came.