[1][2] The poem begins: "Though three men dwell on Flannan Isle To keep the lamp alight, As we steer'd under the lee, we caught No glimmer through the night."
A passing ship at dawn had brought The news; and quickly we set sail, To find out what strange thing might ail The keepers of the deep-sea light.
[3] The remaining stanzas record the increasing tension of the relief party as they search the lighthouse and island, finding no sign of life but three strange birds that plunge from sight.
The novel Some Strange Scent of Death by Angela J. Elliott takes its name from a line in the poem and tells of the disappearance of the lighthouse keepers.
The main story of the video game Dark Fall II: Lights Out contains characters and locations related to the incident.