Mermaid
Listen to Sarah read her poem ...
untended, abandoned but moored
to a tree, is Mermaid, a once proud sailboat
becalmed in the forest, brambled
to beehive, hosting nest lichen, mushroom
and aviary, stuck on her high keel, deep
in the rich loam and dreaming of the glittering,
mermaiding bright silver blue sea, her once sunlit
sails, yellow spinnaker in full wind pocket
splendour, hands to the mast, halyards rattling,
chasing down dolphins nosing her bow wave...
like a fairy tale ended,
a mermaid once landed is not free, and nor is a boat
that’s tasted saltwater, wind-chastened,
out of her element, greening
in ivy abandon, and losing herself to a tree.
to a tree, is Mermaid, a once proud sailboat
becalmed in the forest, brambled
to beehive, hosting nest lichen, mushroom
and aviary, stuck on her high keel, deep
in the rich loam and dreaming of the glittering,
mermaiding bright silver blue sea, her once sunlit
sails, yellow spinnaker in full wind pocket
splendour, hands to the mast, halyards rattling,
chasing down dolphins nosing her bow wave...
like a fairy tale ended,
a mermaid once landed is not free, and nor is a boat
that’s tasted saltwater, wind-chastened,
out of her element, greening
in ivy abandon, and losing herself to a tree.
This poem is copyright (©) Sarah Wallis 2024
About the Writer
Sarah Wallis
Sarah Wallis is a writer living on the East Coast of Scotland, a place where the sky meets the sea and you can see the curve of the world. A poetry chapbook Poet Seabird Island is available from Boats Against the Current, which you can hear her read from @EattheStorms podcast. Her work has appeared in Propel, Dust, Black Bough and Full Mood, as well as several of her poems flying with The Dirigible Balloon.
