March 21, 2019

S.S. Valencia

There was the wreck of a ship
the SS Valencia it was the name
1906 off the coast of British Columbia Canada
a steamer built in 1882 for excursions
New York City to Venezuela and back again…
sank in an area of water called
‘The Graveyard of the Pacific’...
a particularly treacherous area…
waters that captains dreaded navigating in rough weather…
on this particular night
the weather had turned rougher than rough
high wind and low visibility…
celestial observations that is
navigation by the stars impossible
...the Valencia struck a reef and then some rocks
tearing a deathly hole in the hull—
seven lifeboats launched
several capsized; one lost entirely
some survived—many did not…
years a clear
reports of an old lifeboat with eight skeletons
found in a nearby sea cave…
an attempt to retrieve it
unexplainable stories still unexplained…
those of local fishermen
reporting lifeboats were seen being rowed
on the water one fog enshrouded evening
by possible skeletons of the Valencia's victims…
lost souls disappearing into a cloud of mist
sightings of the ship
like a ghostly apparition
making its way down the coast
1933–lifeboats from the Valencia was found adrift

no skeletons aboard