"I'm not going to die, my friend."
He says it now, even at the end.
I can still remember how we began,
In ruins of ash met by beaches of sand.
You simply said, "Come sail with me,
"Become a pirate, and go out to sea."
A ludicrous smile and a bright straw hat,
In all my life I'd never known a man quite like that.
He gathered a crew through charisma and spite,
In your darkest moments he'd see you through the night.
Fearless and grinning he'd face every storm,
Through battle and war we would follow his form.
Even the Kings and Lords of the sea below
Began to fear the Captain of the Oro.
"I'm not going to die, my friend!" he'd laugh,
And look at me as if I and my fears were daft.
He slapped his old hat on the cabin boy at his side,
And cackling loudly boasted on how he'd beat the tide.
Smiling brightly, he had reminded me once again,
Of who the man was that I'd made my captain.
There was not a single life that was not worth saving,
If it had stood with pride under the flag of the Pirate King.
However, even the man that the world declared King,
Could not slow the quiet end that time would bring.
To those fateful words we had all listened in,
And we knew that it would be only a matter of when.
But even still our Captain smiled,
And promised us that it'd still be a while.
And to me, his eyes were knowing, but not sad,
Instead they gleamed of untold mischief yet to be had.
When time finally ran out, as it always does
My Captain didn't run, but faced it head on.
As word traveled 'round, the world was soon abuzz
And to that fated place, many souls were drawn.
"I'm not going to die, my friend."
He says it now even at the end.
He walks to his death with pride,
Head held high and grinning in stride.
Up to the stand, and then there's a shout,
The greatest question is loudly called out.
The marines hear Fate, and then take the bait
As Roger defies death with his final breath.
For with the last spark of his life,
He started the greatest of fires,
For it set a blaze that would birth a new era.
Ten-thousand hearts were set aflame,
And it was our dear captain that was to blame.
And now across from me sits a bright lad,
With a familiar straw hat and a smile most glad,
He speaks of his hero, the captain I knew,
And I share my stories of the time with our crew.
This boy's laugh and grin I already know,
And it's my pride and joy to help him grow.
But better even still is the knowledge that,
What still survives is a will and a hat,
And although the world so desperately tried,
Gol D. Roger never truly died.
