Proof that Once She Was a Mermaid

[busker]

Proof that once she was a mermaid

She denies it with a laugh -
shakes her head and disagrees -
but dips a taste of sourwood honey
and doesn't fear the bees.  ... do mermaids not fear bees? not familiar with the myth

Her warm green eyes swim
with memories of the seas  ... should be cliched, but isn't. nice.
and when a siren calls - ....nice foreshadowing of the siren song at the end
some ambulance from hidden streets
of dreary londontown - ....not sure why spelled thus
she doesn't harbor
secret fears that it's for her
just shakes her head in sympathy for me.

She loves the taste of animals that hoof
the earth and graze the fields so openly -
who would not pretend to love
the taste of fish or salad greens?  ... mild cannibalism there. not my favourite strophe

But I won't sow the earth with seeds of salt
or hide my eyes and ears to free my dreams.
No, bind me to this mast and let me hear her song  ... this is magnificent. It holds up the entire poem
as others cry with emptiness -
the king's men starving at a feast.

Lovely stuff

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Ancient greek vases show sirens as being half bird half woman, and here you have a mermaid. that was a bit confusing at first, but the poem is lovely enough to overlook it.