Tipping the Scales.

A mermaid and her prize.

Sinking
the shimmering triple-ringed ripple closing over and above you
sonic thudding airless silences crash between your ears
as the narcissii
wait for you to stop thrashing
and they can see themselves again
as the circles framing the sky
meld again into seamless firmament
a ring of glimmer-fangs like tribal silver fish
celebrating your titanic descent

a cough and a black sputter later
and you're in love with the sun's impatient heat and the
frantic mermaid pounding double-fisted on your chest
---in with the good and out with the bad ---

fistfuls of sand and pinwheels of light

a more than appellate heartbeat
takes residence

in refusal to quit
the sentient myth
and her love