I am delirious,
bound by the spell of the sea
as it swells and swirls. She’s rising
from the water into my open arms,
clinging to me like final hope.
Her coral lips taste my kiss,
eyes flashing moon’s reflection,
edged with darkness.
Her voice dances
on sea breeze whispering
my name like sweet damnation.
Waves wash around my waiting feet,
beckoning, pulling, enticing me
with cool, inconstant certainty.
Faces form in the foam and fish float
below, eyes like forgotten futures.
Absorbed by the touch of her icy flesh,
her flowing hair adorned with showers
of sparkling sea-spray, my wishes
come true in the curve of her hips
and I’m falling, drowning, dying -
I expire in her embrace.
The Mermaid by Howard Pyle
