Once I was a lady,

Dressed in the deepest sapphire,

Often sought after, I was,

Whose name was spoken on every lip,

Eyes could never peel themselves away,

As I left their mist,

With the first and only humans I ever knew

Some of the rich and powerful,

Strolled with me in my journey,

All leisure and pomp of days swiftly passing,

But beneath their feet,

Men and women of simpler cloth,

Looked toward the bright stars on my horizon,

There, the future and hope glowed together,

Yet I was given the pleasure of meeting them,

Once and only once.

Why was I banished to this cold, desolate place?

Did man really have to flaunt my strength,

Only to betray my weakness,

Turning a angry God upon me,

When I and the many who were lost

Were not but innocent victims punished

For undo bravado?

Yet our fates are now bound,

I am the Guardian of the Deep,

A sentry guarding the edge of beyond,

Yet somewhere onboard,

A tiny girl,

She musn't have been very old,

Left her Dolly in my keeping,

When she will return to claim her toy,

I wish I knew,

Yet her father, has choosen to stay,

Asleep he rests, awaiting her return,

Waiting like I, for our peace and a gentle return.

Ghosts still wander me,

Pausing in wonder

As I forever try,

Trying to reach a shore,

I can never reach in my state,

Then they move on,

Crossing the long field of the two ends,

My granduer and beauty forward,

The tragedy in the end of the line,

Between,

The life of the story,

Neither beginning nor end matter here,

Subplots meet and merge here,

The rich and powerful,

Lie with their common kin,

All equal here in this lonely place,

Yet on the darkest of nights,

The forever darkness looming ever darker,

My sleepers wake and once again,

They roam my decks

Music once stilled,

Echoes throughout the sea.

Forward stretching,

I am willing to welcome any guest,

For I am still a lady, make no mistake,

Yet time has done her worst,

I am old now, please be gentle,

Be quiet and your visit swift,

The strength of my days in youth's light

Has long since passed me by,

I need to conserve my strength,

For I am tired and haggard now,

Men who have not considered my state,

Have hurt me without meaning,

Coming and going,

All meaning well to some extent,

Yet I cannot undo the damage,

Hurt me much more,

I shall finally cease,

Then who will guard the unknown if not I?