mermaids singing
though not to me
only to august males
and soon their chants
mesmerize, enchant
until those naïve ears
become in tune
they are captured blind
no longer have any fight
ride the tide with hair
turned white
waves blown back
and caged in water
turned white and black
they forever rest
in the sweet breath
of spell-binding ocean nymphs
in the chains of seaweed
turned red and brown
on a cloudy day
they are awakened
by human voices calling out
sea sprites find themselves
drowning in the brine

Based on an excerpt of the poem The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock  by T. S. Eliot