She liked mermaids

but not

Ariel.

She liked the briny crash

of incoming waves

the green foam sea foam

bubbling into the sand.

She liked scaly tails

iridescent and barnacled,

the long finger-claws,

hair matted with sea-salt.

She liked the wild mermaid

belonging to the sea.

She liked the wandering mermaid,

because, like the mermaid,

she needed to be free.