The Mermaid Poem by Denise Rivera

Dreams of struggling
in a winter ocean of tar
Treading the waves of black waters
where the horizon is hard to see
Where does the sky and ocean meet?

I see you rowing towards me
Something glowing in your hands

You bring a brilliant liquid
Brighter than the whitest light
yet flows like cascading honey
a sweet, dripping fire-water
to melt the icebergs of my heart

For you know
that even if I am surrounded by water
I cannot drink the salt that stings my wounds

A thirst you eagerly fill
With precious intoxication
a golden potion
sweet and filling
Yet with consequences to the heart and soul

As I dream
You watch me sleep
Your loving eyes adore me
even though
you know
I shall never wake

Feeling your words undress me
As I stir in my sleep

Feeling your songs caress me
Your lyrics makes me weep

Although you quench my thirst for a moment
My icy cold winter waters pull me down
and I let them
For I do not struggle

Because my hopes lie deep beneath
buried treasures
in a sunken ship
Which I cannot abandon

For this is the ocean where I belong