Four men in a boat
to the other side.
Four men in a boat:
only one has died;
the others are just
along for the ride.

Four men in a boat
brave the whale's roar.
Four men in a boat
reach the farthest shore.
The one steps off
and is seen no more.

Three men in a boat
brave the dark sea foam,
three men in a boat,
paddling back toward home
where the sun's still bright
under heaven's dome.

Three men from the boat
encircle a pyre.
Three men from the boat
watch the flames grow higher,
and memories dance
in the smoke and fire.

When I too must go
to my final place,
I will call three friends
to my last embrace,
in custom borrowed
from that distant race.

The three will come
to accompany me
across the darkness
of the inner sea
and return to keep
me in memory.