Mermaid Zoo Poem by Eli Spivakovsky

Today I swim
is she there?
the girl who knows 'the Mermaid wave'
'you put your hands by your side then...' glide
she demonstrates
'You know there are mermaids'
She doesn't quite believe me
her mother swims quietly
well, she is only 8 years old!
'Where? '
'in the land of Israel'
Her eyes open wide
glide by, little mermaid
into your mother's arms
our secret will unite the Mer!
'Have you heard of Mermaid Mellissa? '
'Have I? Yes, I have'
gold-gilded mer tails swish in the night
soft water laps around them
she warms up her scales
they wait for the cruises to arrive
then show where all the pearls are
'Look! A pearl! At the bottom of the pool! '
or is the sun dappling in strokes against the miniscus?
I wait for someone to notice
it has grown
bubble-studded
fleshy and oil
they hear her call
and all hail Haifa
the silver-cities blaze in refracted light
the ripples spread out to the caleum ceilings
and I see her eyes in mine