the sun glints off his wet, dark hair,
the breeze pulls at his sun-bleached, torn shirt,
the kelp brushes his cold, bare toes,
the salt sticks in his still lashes,
the waves reach for his lifeless body,

I watch from behind my rock,
my alcove,
my arch,

waves push my body against barnacled surface,

his first mistake was being alone,
his second was listening to my song,
his last was our kiss,

holding him against my lips,
underneath the white foam,
I took his last breath,
I'll never love again.

perhaps what brings you to me
is the moon's pull
of the ocean's waves:
you, my tides

i'll catch you
when you fall
and i'll hold on to you
when you rise

but this is only possible if
the earth, sun and moon--
our entire universe--
aligns for us

I sit upon the ocean
and the waves they comfort me
the salty air in my lungs
and the sun bronzing my skin
I look deep into the water
and wonder
would anyone notice
if I slipped silently into the blue
and became a mermaid
swimming fiercely into the tides
my long golden hair fastened with
seashells of abalone
my naked chest adorned with sea emeralds
and white pearls around my throat
I would sit upon the largest rock
and sing until all the men were mine....

Once, a boy came, new to the coast
tall figure, his skin supple dusted with white,
he was silent at times, quite
sometimes laughing like a child,
vulnerable yet strong, she sees.

The mermaid was in awe, but she didn’t realize,
a crashing wave, that’s what he is.
Day by day, she drowned herself
In thoughts under her ocean dream;
baffled by his presence, in doubt she continued.

On the third tide of their apogee,
without warning the boy vanished,
like a wind, leaving no trace, not a foam.
Devastated, in losing her one precious pearl,
the mermaid cried in remorse.

Every night she sang to the skies,
until she felt an ethereal glow,
deep down she knew
what was needed to be said.
A celestial granted, for once again they met.

In valor with trembling hands, a note she had professed.
Prospective and believing still
the prince she had wished for,
turned out to be nothing but a loving sin.
The mermaid smiled as she disappeared into the sea
with every song now comes a broken, and shattered dream.

I am the voice that crept up the water.
Sleeping, not sinking. My arm hair
stood straighter, not softening in the lake.

Wake up. Open eyes. Gasp for air.
Dark black cool everywhere I looked.
No one tells you that drowning
isn't dying.

their voices pelted spit wads.
their fear launched missiles.
their apathy sank a princess.
I watched with my screaming eyes.

When I sank I surrendered;
shiftless, restful, still.
But I did not die.

Death is the worn wet whisper.
Death comes to those who wait.
Death embraces cell fish.

And I would know.
They swim all around me.
On the land, never the water.

To them the depths of this lake
ensured my silence.
Then I woke and saw nothing,
felt nothing, knew nothing,
except for the last breath that moved seagulls
and drew mermaids near.