Thetis Poem by Wild Bill Balding

Shapeshifting Nereid,
protecting mother,
lifesaving goddess,

held
raped
broken:

the one who holds you, binds you
through all your shifting shapes,
enters you, possesses you,
forces his will, his form, his being
into your unwilling frame,

be it
the seed of the creep Peleus
the waters of Cape Frio
the mud of Liverpool Bay

or whatever grounds your myth in our reality.

However,
the repressed can rise, exultant:
the sea will surrender its treasure;
what is lost is claimed and renamed.

You may be domesticated, dominated, dulled -

but you bide your time.


(By way of explanation: The Nereid (shapeshifter) Thetis was 'given' to Peleus, in one account, as a reward for his devotion to the gods. The frigate HMS Thetis was lost 5 December 1830 off Brazil with a cargo of treasure, most of which was salvaged six years later. The submarine HMS/M Thetis (motto: 'I bide my time') was lost on diving trials 1 June 1939; it was later raised and renamed HMS/M Thunderbolt.)