Echoes in a Shallow Bay

by Thyme In Her Eyes

Author's Note: Of all the possible topics for a poem, I think a fairy tale is always good. This is based on Hans Christian Anderson's tale 'The Little Mermaid', focusing on the character of the Sea Witch and my own thoughts and insights into this elusive figure (I mean, what can't you say about someone who likes being paid in voices and hair?). Anyway, enjoy and give a lady some feedback!

-- Echoes in a Shallow Bay --

I am the wild one,
Dangerous – dark lady, mad sorceress, renegade queen.
I am wicked, sharp, strong, cruel,
But wise, and proud, and powerful, without pity.
My dance is chaos, and madness my glory
My love is the bodies of the drowned.

I command the other side of the moon,
I am fury, and delight.
I am placated and respected,
Or I will make all tremble with a smile.
I summon the storm – my blood –
I let the winds rage and the waves dance.

I cackle and unleash terror –
Mad howling evils, brutal darkness…
No ugliness is hidden here.
Wild storms thrash with it throughout the nights;
My will destroys ships.
My wrath destroys coasts.

But night passes, and the balance must be kept,
And so my storms abate; a lazy calm settles in
And peace thrives – abundant, sunlit, and still.
I crawl, curl, sleep, and all is well…
My domain of chaos becomes a dank cave,
A lonely home to bitterness.

Morning – calm and still. I slept,
Out of my element, coiled in my dark realm
Always, always awaiting my next wild moment.
A shock of beauteous sound
Startled me from my slumber –
Tremulous golden notes roused me.

The young mermaid was singing,
Impossibly lovely – clear, sonorous;
Sweetest harmony, a sad siren.
Aching swells, glorious cadences,
Simple strains, soft undulations…
Her song soared.

Never before had I seen beauty,
In something other than my storms,
But I longed for more – her song
Was filled with trembling compassion,
Sweetest innocence, daring dreams
And a miracle – my ice heart was moved.

I felt emotion – a longing for that voice,
For her song to never leave
I had to have it – there is no love
Without possession, without need.
I took that voice, that instrument of beauty,
So that I might listen to it always.

And so I dwell here – in darkness and solitude,
The ocean is silent now, mourning
I keep this voice, her song, with me always
Singing at my command, for me and no other!
I will share it with no-one, confine it here…
Now you know why the sea is so sad.

Love and idealism is dead,
With dawn's touch, it dissolved with her –
Into nothing!
Now, it breaks with her,
Breaks with every wave it dances on…
My waves.

I live in darkness and joy
While the sea hums voiceless its grief,
While her people mourn her loss
– They will never forgive the part I played –
I am alive; I have beauty wrapped around me
All they have left of herare echoes in a shallow bay.

Did you know
That the bone-yellow foam
Riding the breaking waves like a wild horse
Isn't exuberant, isn't desperate;
Just a broken-hearted
Mermaid's corpse?