A Proposition Poem by Tex T Sarnie

I was relaxing on a bench overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
The day was warm and sunny, and the breeze was cooling me.
My eyelids were feeling heavy and I was nodding off to sleep.
when someone sat beside me, but they didn't care to speak.

From the corner of my eye I looked to see whom had sat down
and saw a most beautiful woman whose sari touched the ground.
I opened my eyes further and saw that she had long black hair,
which covered her topless body, and honestly I tried not to stare.

Again I closed my eyes and thought about what I had just seen,
but then she softly spoke, "Isn't this view so much like a dream? "
"Isn't it just, " I replied, "and it amazes me how it changes every day,
one day there are no waves, and the next they could wash you away."

"If it was possible would you like to live permanently beneath the sea?
Be able to eat and drink, and breathe quite normally?
And perhaps chill out on the ocean floor, and chat to playful dolphins?
Be friendly with whales and sharks, and accompany them on swims? "

"Well, if that meant not going to work and slaving away just for a pittance,
and not having to tolerate people, who I would rather wish good riddance.
A life below the sea sounds a perfect way to happily spend my days,
especially when I could swim along with fish and giant manta rays."

"Would you take your wife with you to live beneath the sea? "
"No not I, I'm not a married man, nor ever likely to be."
"But what if I asked you to spend the rest of your life with me?
as your wife of course, for better or worse, in sweet harmony.

And how would you react to being a father living beneath the waves,
and to living in natural formations like subterranean caves?
We could swim to much warmer waters and sunbathe on deserted shores,
and in the stormy seasons we could swim the peaceful ocean floors."

"It is really nice to meet someone who has similar dreams to me."
"Thank you, but if this was possible, what would your answer be? "
I could see that she was being serious, so I looked into her eyes,
and said, "I would live anywhere with you, come high or low tides."

"Are you really being truthful, " she said, "or are you joking with me? "
"No, I mean it honestly, don't my eyes show you my sincerity."
"Okay, but what if I asked you to live with me elsewhere instead,
would your commitment be the same, would you still be interested? "

"Yes, land or sea without doubt, you have swept me off my feet.
I've fallen in love with you and without you I would be incomplete.
However, there is a huge problem if we ever did live beneath the sea;
I cannot hold my breath for longer than a count of twenty three."

"But what would you say if I said that I could fix that minor problem
by ensuring you could breathe safely within the waters of the ocean? "
"Well, if you can do that, what is keeping us away from the seas of blue?
But after all has been proposed and said, you are serious aren't you? "

I then caught a glimpse of a fish tail, as the wind blew open her sari.
At first I was shocked; I had no inkling of this female from the sea.
"Ah, you have seen my tail, but has it altered your opinion of me?
If it has I understand that our life together was not really meant to be.

But if you can accept and live with the sight of me, and my lovely tail,
your own will grow to be as beautiful as any adorable whale.
It is your decision, but having a tail is incredibly more useful in the sea
than your legs are on land. However, if that is where you prefer to be?

I'm sorry, I should have made my tail known to you when we first met.
But if I had, I'm sure that you would have left me without regret.
So, am I the one to suffer regret, or will you enter the water by my side
for a new life where we can swim away and catch the forever tide? "