The Lighthouse Keeper

By Steve Ellis

Two miles off the mainland, in a windswept, lonely place,
Was an island home where Ben lived with his daughter, Grace;
Her mother died in childbirth, but Ben still saw Anne’s face
In Grace’s smile and when she laughed, then he’d see a trace

Ben was the lighthouse keeper, the ocean fed them well
On fresh-caught fish and seaplants brought from the tidal swell;
One night as Ben was fishing from rocks above the sea,
He saw a fish the like of which he swore couldn’t be

Bright, silv’ry-green and bobbing, it disappeared but then
A massive wave crashed ashore – the fish was there again!
A monster from a nightmare, on six short legs it crawled,
But one hind leg was broken, and on the sand it sprawled

Confounded but curious, with a pounding in his chest,
Lamplight in hand, Ben approached this uninvited guest;
The creature didn’t see him and limped on up the beach,
Then howled into the darkness with a blood-curdling screech

Ben beheld the horror of this lizard’s fearsome wail -
Red eyes, six legs and ten feet long, fifteen with its tail,
Silver scales all over, a tall fin along its back;
Ben trod forward warily, fearing a quick attack

The creature's blood was blue and oozed from an open wound;
Hurt, tired and defenceless, this lizard was marooned
Ben resolved to kill the beast while on that bloodied sand,
He raised his knife, the blade shone, but something stayed his hand

He’d not heard Grace come near and swore an ungodly oath;
‘Grace! You know I must kill it, or it’ll kill us both!’
'Father, mercy, I beg of you, spare this creature’s life!’
Ben stared in his daughter’s eyes, then slowly dropped his knife

‘This creature’s hurt and hungry - is there nothing we can spare?’
Grace asked Ben, tears in her eyes - he saw her mother there;
They ran back to the lighthouse, still the creature remained
On the sand in agony, its life-strength waxed and waned

Tonight, the sea’d been kind, ‘til the lizard came on land,
Ben took a creel of mackerel then ran back to the sand;
He threw a fish to the beast, who bit it once in two,
The same way went another, red eyes on Ben all through

All the fish had gone now, and the beast then flicked its tail,
Caught a mighty wave and swam, its fin up like a sail;
Left with only footprints and a chill in both their hearts,
Ben and Grace stared out to sea, in awe of nature’s arts

They didn’t see the beast again - was it just a dream?
They stayed alert anyway, still heard that howling scream;
In darkness two weeks later, in the eye of a storm,
From his bedroom window, Ben spied a terrible form

A lizard crawled up the sand, much bigger than before,
From the waves came another, then another ten more
In the lightning blasts Ben watched them as they scaled the rocks,
Ben cried to Grace, lungs fit to burst, then checked all the locks

Trapped in their high prison, they could only await their fate,
Grace asked ‘What do they want from us?’ Ben’s heart burned with hate;
As the storm raged all around them and everything seemed lost,
Ben told Grace she’d not survive unless he bore the cost

The wind died down to a squall when Ben unlocked his door
And faced the lizards eye to eye, quaking to his core;
The biggest beast then came forth and with a wat’ry growl,
Bared razor-sharp teeth that turned the air that Ben breathed foul

Its red eyes glowed like fire, it stank of fish and seaweed,
But from its mouth came a bounty, a strange gift indeed;
Thirty, forty fish or more came tumbling to the ground,
Flipping, flapping, bright-eyed mackerel leaping all around

As one, the beasts dived from the rocks, back into the sea
With one gigantic splash they’d gone - the prisoners were free!
‘They’ve gone!’ cried Grace, sighing, ‘do you think they’ll soon return?’
‘No,’ said Ben, ‘they came to teach a lesson I must learn’

‘We have no need to fear them, they thanked us how they know,
Now into the deep and distant seas they’re bound to go,
They have no need to fear us, for we’ve done them no wrong,
Let’s give these fish back to the sea, where all fish belong’

Years passed and Grace left the island, life was changing tack,
Ben often saw great fish with tall fins along their back,
They sliced the waves like devils, but more like gods to Ben,
With them around, he’d never know loneliness again

Steve Ellis lives near London in the UK and writes poetry and short stories, mostly of a fantastical persuasion! His work has been broadcast on the BBC and published by Dissident Voice.