The Lighthouse Mermaid Who Disdained Legs For A Heart~

here there be magik

shells

smashed open against the jetty

their pearl prisms

cracked

caught on the tail flip of a kraken

scaling a lighthouse wall

brought to shore by the mermaid

who'd stripped a thousand men of their wooden souls

and gave them boxes of chocolate hearts

to puzzle over at the onset of coralization;

he knows he will be crushed

in the pressure of her aquarium

but like all the other men and monsters before him

he conceded

that

this girl thing sure knew how to place

her barb

and reel them in

 

his consolation;

she would not reject his heart

 

mermaid added kraken to her scales

carrying imprints of love

long after the smears had vanished

 

she,

a soft beacon

they,

a composite of pressure points

in her memory's clay

 

 

 

 

copyright:2011vssmd/amusemusepress

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Reviews

[FireWoman]

A flip on the idea of "Rainbow Fish", who gave away his shiny scales to anyone (fish) who asked. Your tale shows expresses the idea that each experience colors us into who we are is exceptional.
Be it a siren or a monster, they turn human even for only a moment.

[Rossen]

Wow this is a wonderfully written poem, I love mermaid tales
and this is my fave... great finish

[.]

ahh...a mermaid after my own heart..delightful

[Jibey]

I wish I could understand your writing better.. reading the reviews below doesn't make me think others have understood either... or they avoid chancing their arm... but there is no doubt you fascinate with your words and images... of exploitation and love that hurts, of smashing and grabbing, of the primrose path, of 'pressure points in her memory's clay'...

[Coyote Poetry]

I like this poem. A ocean and a Mermaid always get my attention. You have weaved a very good tale. I'm a great fan of myth. This is a excellent story in the poem.
Coyote

[Reese38]

Your use of mythology and fables inside your own wonderland (I wonder what it's like living inside that beautiful head of yours) comes through without comparable genius which is all your own, Selene.


who'd stripped a thousand men of their wooden souls

and gave them boxes of chocolate hearts

to puzzle over at the onset of coralization;

he knows he will be crushed

in the pressure of her aquarium

but like all the other men and monsters before him

he conceded

that

this girl thing sure knew how to place

her barb

and reel them in


Eroticism has never been more subtle.

[Robin]

you speak such a beautiful language , of men with wooden souls who could hope to stay afloat upon a metaphoric sea , a sea the mermaid knows far better than most men could ever know , she knows the beauty and the perils of this sea , and in it her heart lives ... such a beacon

[LilyT]

Here there be magik, and you are it!


here there be magik

shells

smashed open against the jetty

their pearl prisms

cracked

caught on the tail flip of a kraken

scaling a lighthouse wall

brought to shore by the mermaid

who'd stripped a thousand men of their wooden souls

and gave them boxes of chocolate hearts

to puzzle over at the onset of coralization;

he knows he will be crushed

in the pressure of her aquarium

but like all the other men and monsters before him

he conceded

that

this girl thing sure knew how to place

her barb

and reel them in



This stanza, a fresh heart pearl.

[Marie Harrison]

What a lovely tail, I mean tale.
I love the imagery in this beautiful poem
I especially love the folklore of mermaids!

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

here there be magik shells, this girl thing sure knew how to place her barb
and reel them in. his consolation; she would not reject his heart. mermaid added kraken to her scales, long after the smears had vanished. She, a soft beacon, they a composite in her memory's clay. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!