The Ferryman’s Curse

The boatman lived in a stone-built house
Three score years and ten on earth
His wife was younger by several years
They lost their only child at birth

Father raised the house with his bare hands
Mother toiled the fields by day
He never spoke of the lady of the lake
The brush with death which caused him sway

The boatman made an honest living
Along the river's south-side bank
Family gatherings, household trips
From time to time the river grew dank

One such day when the river was foul
The boatman took his wife to town
Breathing heavy on the journey home
Fever struck as the sun went down

The sickness raged for several days
The doctor rambled in despair
The old priest read the sacraments
Decay and death hung in the air

A coin for the mouth of his dying wife
Was duly placed beside the bed
A knock on the door on that moonless night
The boatman feared the word had spread

A stranger stood on the front porch step
Stovepipe hat and long black coat
"I come from the other side" he whispered
"I carry souls in the ferryman's boat"

The ferryman growled, "I've come for your wife"
The boatman said, "She ain't dead yet"
The ferryman raged, "I need her now
It's time that you repaid your debt"

The boatman tried to make the peace
The ferryman spat and cursed and swore
As evil speaks as evil must
He called the boatman's wife a whore

"You lusted for my daughter fair
Betrayed her in a mire of sin
You married, knowing of her fate
Time has come for the reckoning"

The boatman said "No debt is due"
The ferryman's rage could get no worse
"It was me who caused you suffering
The still-born child of the ferryman's curse"

"I ain't yet put the coin in her mouth"
The boatman said with rising fear
"That job is mine" the ferryman said
And slashed the boatman on the ear

The ferryman held a wicked knife
Razor sharp, serrated blade
Stabbed at the boatman's arms and face
Terrifying were the screams he made

The boatman reached for his Bible
To shield him in the violent fight
He reached for a log from the open fire
And set the ferryman's hair alight

The ferryman fell to the floor in agony
Dropped the knife on the boatman's bed
The boatman stabbed him in the gut
The screams died as the floor turned red

The boatman sat beside the bed
Holding his young wife's tiny hand
Her eyes opened wide as the fever left
He gently stroked the wedding band

She sat up slow, looked all around
Bared her pointed teeth and smiled
Flung herself in the boatman's arms
"I am with child, I am with child"

They dragged the ferryman to his boat
Placed the coin in the deadman's mouth
They silently rowed to the other side
The ferryman's curse was the boatman's prize