"In sadder stories, they say,
we were never meant to be.
You see, I only knew you by your voice:
it's unexpected lilt,
the promise of life,
the murmur of the sea.
Your mouth formed half-crescents
and little 'O's,
as if the vowels were
bubbles being blown.
Or at least that's what I imagined.
The sea had gotten at my eyes, my mouth.
I couldn't see or speak.
The same cruel sea that had
ravaged me,
spat me out and then taken you away from me.
But I remembered your voice.
It was like my soul was a lute,
your voice plucking out notes of love.
Notes of love that reverberated in my ears
and in the hollow space of my heart
that had never before
felt anything
so sweet.
I remember."
Nov 20, 2014
Nov 20, 2014 at 5:13 AM UTC
"In sadder stories, they say,
we were never meant to be.
You see, I only knew you by your voice:
it's unexpected lilt,
the promise of life,
the murmur of the sea.
Your mouth formed half-crescents
and little 'O's,
as if the vowels were
bubbles being blown.
Or at least that's what I imagined.
The sea had gotten at my eyes, my mouth.
I couldn't see or speak.
The same cruel sea that had
ravaged me,
spat me out and then taken you away from me.
But I remembered your voice.
It was like my soul was a lute,
your voice plucking out notes of love.
Notes of love that reverberated in my ears
and in the hollow space of my heart
that had never before
felt anything
so sweet.
I remember."
Inspired by The Little Mermaid. The prince retells his story. Not a poem per se. Might work better as prose.
Request permission to use this poem