Patience of the Finless

Cast away,

I found a cave

and waded bare in the

tide pools, soothing

a lack thereof cleaved

from my still beating heart.

I befriended starfish

and frisky anemones,

yet I wasn't worried

about the sting

of jellyfish or urchins

because I had been

an oceanic soul,

at least once, before

my fins were stolen.

I scoured this beach

and razored reef

for the pearls

a sailor once told

me could heal your curse,

but all I found were stones

and crystals

that had lived

among the stars.

Lonely, I attempted

home making,

tried to find comfort,

as I had before, between

rock and salt water,

but the shape of your name

always came to me

in the waves,

the wind,

the heron,

who dipped her toes

below the surface

and lured desperate fish.

I had become the prey.

Odd it was—

fooled by a fantasy

despite being

one myself.

Shells mark the boundary

of my home—a silly

remnant

from the life I wished

for us. It wasn’t

until the Queen’s

feathered general

met me

by the tide

with your message in a bottle

that I realized

we were promised

more than fragments.

I will find you.

I will find you.

I will find you.

So, I wait patiently,

scales on sand girt,

empty handed

and hoping we

could learn to accept

even the fruitless, insipid

parts of our myth.

_________________

*This poem is part of an ongoing anthology. If you are interested in reading more, please visit the poems linked below!

Melody of the Lost Echo - https://vocal.media/poets/melody-of-the-lost-echo

Tragedy of the Mermaid and Her Princess - https://vocal.media/poets/tragedy-of-the-mermaid-and-her-princess