From
a
placid tideless sea
a
mermaid
rose
coral eyed and silver tailed
to
give herself to earth.
There
in
the absence of the sea
moonwashed
on
the altar of the shore
the
aqueous maiden
in
anguished chant
intones her parting song
a languished plea
which lures me to her side.
When I found her
I
did not know
how long she had been dead
but
when I put my lips to hers
to
bid
a
parting kiss
her mouth still bore the flavour
of
the pollen of the sea.
Though that taste
I
savour to this day
the quicksand passage of the years
has
dimmed my recollection
and
now
how long ago that was
or
if
it
really came about
I
do
no longer know.
Yet
in
the twilight of my years
the
sand grains of that shore
I
search
in
hope to find
some
scorched and shrivelled
relic
of
that
siren of the sea
to
know
if
what
still
today
of
the pollen of the sea.
Though that taste
I
savour to this day
is
in
my
mind
is
memory or dream.