ocean hymn

riding on a ghost wave

of the sea, i saw a mermaid

perched on galant, jagged rock.

she would not sing to me,

she would not sing.

she put her ear to a conch shell

and laughed quietly,

whispering her deep ocean

secrets, then winked at me.

in one dark moment, she was gone,

with only the tip of her fin breaking

the water at the very end.

and then, nothing.

and i had a vision,

of poseidon raising souls to waves

and of a thousand whirlpools

sucking me in.

of lightning and thunder

striking down like arms with

fists crashing on rocks and homes

and dreams.

and a thick black blanket of cloud

rolling in low and heavy and

grumbling its eager, slow opinion.

of a shipwreck with silent screams

and dozens of heroes lost.

and of the water receding until

atlantis came up from the bottom

and the mermaids moon bathed in the night

and all is now quiet.

and i, i am just riding

ghostward on the waves.

i, i am just a ghost.

i am a drop of rain.

i am your missing coat.

i am a thought.

on the sea, i saw a mermaid

perched on a galant, jagged rock.

she would not sing to me,

she would not sing.