Monsters of Men

the anatomy of a mermaid

You see her, in the

currents along the tide.

You exchange smiles, and

that was your first mistake.

Because then you

find yourself falling in love.

And you would sail across

the Milky Way just to

find her amongst the

oceans.

She keeps singing, a cry for

help. Because love has made her

empty, and her ribs are threaded

with kelp. Azure is in her

eyes, a pervenche sort of

gaze. Please, fair sailor,

go home. Love is not waiting for you

out to sea. But you ignore the signs,

the grin of pointed teeth everytime

you turn around. The finger

bones she wear in her hair.

The blood stained on her chin.

Love has made you blind, and

now she fills your

eye sockets with pearls. Takes apart your body

and fills your lungs with saltwater.

You're drowning from the inside

out and she's pulling you down.

Now you rest in the underwater

caverns, your body a forgotten Atlantis.

No fish make homes in your bones,

because that's where she keeps her

heart.