There’s a mermaid in my mind
locked in shadow
long unrealized
in alpha sleep
She reaches for liquid jade
white foamy crests
yet ever magnetized
to the deep
My mermaid shimmies, molts
only to discover another lovely sheath
shining, shingled, seductive
armoring unborn thoughts
Avoiding reef and buoy
she makes her way with grace
through crimson channels
softened gray barnacles
No trident, no Poseidon to free my mermaid
only waiting lonely wisdom buys her beauty
leaves her lone, tossing nuggets
to passing ships
Return to crimson deep, gasping
bathing flapping gills, molting yet again
emerging golden scaled, silvered mirror
still fair, too fair
The mermaid of my mind
the alluring illusory reality of it all
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Absolutely beautiful, Jacky! So flowing, so lyrical … alliterations … and the last line making the tongue roll around with all the l’s: …alluring illusory reality of it all. Five stars from me for sure. Q x
Wow! Q! Thanks ever so much. Your words certainly mean alot to me. I can sleep and dream of lovely things now. You’re so sweet.
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Quite magnificent! I love this! Simply gorgeous!
Aw, thanks so much,Daphne
) Your comments always mean so much to me. So glad you liked ‘Mermaid” Very much appreciated! 
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Great images here. I get the impression that she’s been going through the cycle of change & striving and being Forced back to the depths for a Lonnnng time. Helluva metaphor for someone’s life, innit?
Thanks For this Jackie
Ha! Yeah..John, that she is…forced back to the depths! Hard work…change..thanks much John for the read and comments. Always welcome here, friend
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Absolutley beautiful, a really touching piece of poetry. I loved it, you write beautifully
Thank you so much for your read and very generous comment!
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These are my two favorite lines:
“in alpha sleep
“She reaches for liquid jade”
My own insomnia evoked those lines…I’m always in alpha sleep. Thanks so much for the read and comment!
I love the first stanzas of this, but the last three don’t add anything–better to end in the mystery? x
Hi Steve, thanks for read and comment. For you this might be so…for me, and perhaps, hopefully for others, the process of the mermaid’s struggle is worthy of description. Much gratitude for the critique.
). Cheers!
hey..nice to meet your mermaid…love the imagery in this jackie..great flow and really..just love your mermaid..smiles
Hi, Claudia! Thought she might be a good metaphor for locked, unexpressed thoughts and magic. Thanks much for the read and comment!
let that magic out..your mermaid has lots of beauty eh…you cant keep that bottled up…let her breathe…smiles…
Nope. Can’t stay bottled up..That’s for sure! Thanks, Brian for the read and comment! Cheers!
Love the magic in this…beautiful!
Glad you liked this. Thanks much for the read and comment!
Lots of vivid yet non-obvious imagery here, jackie. I like it, and the swish feel of it, like swimming–the molting, too, was an esp nice touch.
Happy you connected to this piece, Hedge. Thanks very much for the read and lovely comment!
I have read this before – love the imagery – this is so beautifully layered
Not an easy one to write…but worth it I think, I hope. Thanks, M!
hmmm, there’s a sadness about this that makes me shiver with sorrow. I know what you mean aboutbthatbwhich waits to be born but is it real or not?
You pose an interesting question. But then one has to question what is real. I suppose, if one thinks about it, especially in poetry, the question is almost unanswerable. What is real, unreal in poetry? Is magic real? Thank you, Chazzy! …
This is beautiful Jackie….it resonates with wonderful imagery & language. It speaks to me about ‘hiding’ away our inner being, for whatever reason. She needs to be freed to swim …(sorry if that sounded corny!)
Not corny at all… You got the point. It’s why I chose the mermaid metaphor…locked in her own magic tmeant to swim, yet can’t be completely free. Thanks so much for the read and comment!
Very nicely done, Jackie. The form and the rhythm move the narrative forward in waves. “red sea…” is that reaching back to Sappho? Very striking. Excellent writing.
Hi, Steve! The crimson sea and channels, along with the gray barnacles respresent the blood and gray matter of my brain…since the mermaid is a product of my imagination. and swimming around in those parts. But Sappho would certainly add to the magic and mythology here. Thank you for the read and thoughtful comment! ( I looked but did not find an entry for you)
No entry today…working on something though, for next week.
I’ll look forward to next week, then…Cheers!
What I like about this best is what it doesn’t say. As illusory a mirage as the mermaid is, here the symbol stands for all that we think only to grow older and find that the epiphany turned out to be not so unique, or perhaps not true or only partly true. More life, and we shed another set of illusions – whether about love, sex, politics, power, sin, faith, or hope. Excellent write!
Gay! I always look forward to your comments because they are so in depth…and so right on! I wanted to give that somewhat jaded effect because of our illusions, or I should say, my illusions…yet I wanted to keep a little of the magic alive somewhow. You beamed right into it! Thanks so much for your insightful comment!
Wow, simply stunning! I could see the mermaid swimming in my own mind!
Thanks so much for your read and comment!
so is this your muse?
messy little girl
Partially, but not exactly. The mermaid is my locked thoughts…and notions forever changing, elusive. (will get to your entry tomorrow) Thanks, Tammy!