Ishaisms, Poetry

The Boatman Series (1) – The Boatman and the Traveller

Isha Garg


Starless winter night, the cold, dark waters;
The boatman comes to ferry the midnight travellers,
Yet, waiting hatless, at the lonely harbour,
head bent down, a solitary smoker,
leans ‘gainst the mossy ladder –
coat revealing a silver dagger…
Breaking into a sweat despite the shiver,
The boatman reluctantly takes him in and stammers,
“And where would you like to go to, sir?“
A faraway look and a frown between his brows gather,
as the traveller, his eerie, incoherent reply utters…
“Take me to him, I seek no other,
take me to the one – the one who murdered…
left me to die, in these cold, dark waters…
I come to settle old scores, with his dagger…“
© Isha Garg

Doodle by Isha Garg

Available on Dark River, a deluge of poetry.

Published by Isha Garg

I am all ages; the timeless sea... One with nature, the breeze and the trees... Sparks of fire are the soul of me; I'm all that was, is and will be. © Author of Dark River - a deluge of poetry.

78 thoughts on “The Boatman Series (1) – The Boatman and the Traveller”

  1. Oh would you look at this! A captivating tale, that could be a short story but needn’t be, as it fires my imagination already in so few lines. I become a bystander silently regarding the scene, but immersed within. So many possibilities.
    And the fabulous doodle!
    My Friday night entertainment is enhanced… beautiful Isha, thank you! ❤

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    1. Hahah! I wanted tag-warn you but then, this is “beginners level” spooky, so I thought of catching you off guard 😏😁 heheh. I’m glad you liked it Diana.. I love what you wrote 💟😘

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      1. Thanks sweet lady 🙂 ❤
        Oh I see, it is your intention to introduce me to your dark side gently. A dagger here, a twisted mind there … and before I know it there shall be zombie doodles and Isha ghouls in my dreams. I think I'm up for the challenge with such a dastardly plan hehe. At least it's not midnight here, yet !

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      3. Oh you are bad! 😉💕
        I shall have my revenge if ever we happen to be communicating during an Isha dark night. But I bet you are one to be doing healthier things (like sleeping) at the India midnight hour. Clever you are because I can conjure up scary (well, not yet but I could if challenged…maybe 😂). Hope you had a lovely week, Lady G 😌🌷🌷💟💟

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      4. I don’t think I’d be spooked as much as you… But then, you never know. 👻😛😂 For it’s been a long, long while since I’ve had my dose of horror stories and movies, and thus I’ve become like one of them mere mortals 😛😛😛

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      5. A mere mortal…you? Never!
        🌟💟🌟 👸🏻 🌟💟🌟
        Singing happy songs to myself here and not looking out the dark window. But I shall use my mind to continue your low grade spooky tale in my mind 😌 Thank you for a terrific post! 😘🌹🌸👯‍♀️💟

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      6. Sing happy songs… Yes! That will do it 😂 Think of this poem as “sentimental”.. In fact, that was the exact word my grandfather used to describe this poem when I read it out to him… Made me look at it differently 😊

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      7. Actually, when first I read it I was not thinking spooky at all – more a Les Miserables type vibe. A man wronged, a rightful vengeance. I like grandpa Garg 😊🌸

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      2. Haha, thank you, I’m flattered; but honestly, if I knew how it ends I would have written it… I’ve always maintained that stories tell themselves… writers are just the medium…

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      3. How do you mean spammed? Is this a flaw in my site here? I ask, as this is the first comment l have seen make reference to it, so if it is something l can repair it would be useful to know 🙂

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      6. Thank you, l have just read your link as per your ‘best post to date’ in the questions, very nicely written Isha, very nicely done 🙂

        Yes, like most of us, we are mortified if we think there is spam on our sites, l hate spam lol! I am now fully assured 🙂

        Thank you

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      7. Thank-you so much 😊😊 Your questions were really cool I must say! And yes, there can be nothing worse than things like spam.. Anyway, all’s well that ends well 😊😇

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  12. Your doodles always have immensity of depth Isha and this one is even more captivating and as Diana said it would have been a story perhaps not because it works perfectly well magically even now as denouement made me feel–what did I just read!!! Ah it’s beautiful beyond description the way you execute it. Great job! Hope you are enjoying the weekend dear 🙂 ❤

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  13. The verses are so passionate and feverish. The sense of foreboding is real and the image of the gleaming dagger remains fresh in the mind of the reader. The whole poem is a set up akin to the first scene of a Western flick, where a scarred and hardened man returns to the village in search of someone he himself is unsure of. The Boatman might know more than it seems and he might be nurturing a dark secret. Innovative effort.

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    1. I just heard it and loved it! Although, I think, for this series, it would have to be something more open-ended… perhaps just the sound of waves and the “quiet sounds”, (to use an oxymoron), of the night?

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