Triton's Reprieve

I sat upon the shore and dug a hole

And squinting turned my face to catch the sun

With wind-blown flaxen filaments of gold

The whipping strands of summers that have gone.

There was a time the ocean tried its best

To swallow up this child. Down below,

I panicked as I could not breach the crest

Of surging waves beneath the undertow.

If I could be a mermaid, swish my tail,

And breathe this water, I thought as I choked,

I’d give away these legs. The sparkling veil

Of churning foam relented then. And soaked

I climbed undaunted from the conquered sea

To dig a hole and sit in reverie.