You opened me up
like an ancient,
locked treasure box
brought me up
from the sea floor
dusted off
the algae that
had clung to it
all these years,
coating me with armor
That sea-dust had
protected me,
a shy, gentle maid of the sea
from the predatory dangers
that lurk in the dark
the angry barracudas, the lying sharks
Yet that filmy, misty brine
closed me off
to the glories of the ocean wonders
the smiling sea horses
the loving sonor of whales
And then you, undersea explorer
opened up the real treasure:
in shining, beating blue
my wild ocean heart
made of tides and mystic hues
and showed me
the multi-glow shimmer
of the waves
from underneath
re-introduced me
to the raging beauty of the corals
within me
Yes, it seems
that even mermaids
sweet nymphets
of ocean lore
want to love
and be loved
to the core