& a poem
The Mermaid
in the city folds
the mermaid searching
running -- fears earth
crying weeping water tears
crackling sky
kings worship memories
queens believe in holy vanilla daffodils
stung by magic
electric gardens
cities -- wilderness
spinning; factories beaches oceans fires
a fragrance, leading softly
through concrete jungles
roaring winds; roaring sea
the streets sizzling beneath her feet
swollen bruised eye; salt on her lips
into the arms
the sea: sparkled and crackled
the mermaid: shivering, sinking
into oblivion; deeper still
tangled in seaweed; in secrets
tears are the ocean
& beneath the highways they won't
find her cigarette butts
only a weak ghost
in the sea, the rivers, lead her up to the forests
beneath the surface she is snarling
(back.)