Laura Sewell

with
arms outstreched
and crowned with wisps
of seaweed hair she floats, eyes closed
in a world of perfect silence
that is loud enough
to hear
light
a kaleidoscope
a shimmering, elusive glimmer
dances across the bottom, the reflection
of a white hot sun that fails
to reach beyond
the blue
alone
she dives spins glides
in effortless infinite motion
bubbles trailing like round diamonds
in a perfect sapphire sea
surging forward
free
scales
pearly sheened
each a tiny peacock's feather
with ridges guilded gold with care
fins, flimsy pink and sheer
drape like silk
weightless
suddenly
the quietness is broken
the bubble bursts and she is gone
the mermaid is lost, the solitude forgotten
replaced by a girl with nothing to
do on a summer's day
but dream