Somewhere, Some When

Somewhere, somewhen, so long ago
That details blur together now,
We stumbled on a castle’s ruins,
With sentinels of highland cows,
Approached by a meandering trail
That snaked through downs and doubled back,
Until, at last, it reached a moat,
And there a post with bell attached.
We rang it, and its sullen toll
Disturbed the mist across the ground.
And from the distant shore, as though
Replying, came a grunting sound.
An ancient hunch-backed figure with a
Face just like a prune appeared,
And climbed into a peeling boat
That hadn’t seen fresh paint in years.
He rowed as slow as continental drift,
As we stood there, transfixed,
The surface of the moat unmoving,
Charon on the River Styx
And after an eternity, he reached
Our bank, climbed out and put
The rope around the post, then turned
To us and, coughing, said, “We’re shut.”