Saturday, September 3, 2011

Winged Dryad

[Death of a Mermaid image from the internet
posted for Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads Picture Prompt Friday
Reposted for Poets United's Poetry Pantry February 2, 2014] 

She bursts out of the sea
a winged dryad
in the foam,
her gown
all the colors
of the ocean
that's her home.
Seahorses
cascading
from her
seaweed-laden hair,
she rides waves
outlined in beauty
 by the luminescence
there.

Her home is a cavern
below the coral reefs,
her bed a captain's cabin
in a ship that never sleeps.
She dines daintily with  whales,
plankton and krill from their baleen,
a shared feast of tiny edibles
 on leaves
of darkest green.

When lungs grow tight
that's when you'll see her,
looking like a wave,
her wings
faintly visible,
face beautiful
and grave.
She flings herself onto the rocks,
draws back
in sinuous dance,
under a silvery midnight sky,
her mournful song
perchance
remembering
 a time Before
that stopped too soon,
and she wont be back
until the next
full moon.

She sails away
 on a ghost ship
with an emerald-laden mast.
As the golden sunset
takes her in,
she slips into
the past.


36 comments:

  1. oh I love this!!! brilliantly creative - the story so defined and established - fantastic write here! truly enjoyed it!

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  2. You have characterized her well, Sherry@

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  3. This has all the mystique of established mythology, or of an ancient ballad sung by a sad man playing a lute..
    I smiled to see the seahorses cascading from her hair, as did my personification of the sea.. I'm glad yours has escaped death altogether by becoming immortal.
    I think my favourite stanza is the one that describes her home beneath the waves - it appeals to my imagination, and I must note the cadences created by the subtle use of rhyme.

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  4. A haunting description of this sea creation.

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  5. Wow... fabulous descriptions, a powerful sea dance of waving words and actions.
    You painted a masterpiece with this work Sherry.

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  6. Excellent write, I love the image of her that grows and flows through the piece.

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  7. Aye, Sherry, I know I wasn't the only one who could see them.

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  8. Sherry, this is absolutely beautiful. Very descriptive and great word choice. Mighty fine job!
    I really liked this:

    Her home is a cavern
    below the coral reefs,
    her bed a captain's cabin
    in a ship that never sleeps.

    Liked the rhyme that danced within this poem.

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  9. beautiful imagery Sherry... this line drew me in "her gown
    all the colors
    of the ocean" especially:-)

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  10. This is beautiful and the image you found is the perfect compliment to your poem.

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  11. Sherry, what a beautiful sight this would be to behold. I like the idea of an 'emerald-laden mist.' You brought the image to life with your words!

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  12. What a stunning apparition you have shown, Sherry! The painting you chose complements your poem in a most effective manner.

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  13. Excellent all round. Great flow and so imaginative.

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  14. Great imagery pictured in your words. A tale of the life of mermaid so poignantly penned.
    -HA

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  15. Great imagery pictured in your words. The tale of the life of mermaid penned in such a poignant way.
    -HA
    P.s.- Please ignore my previous comment, which I posted by mistake.

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  16. After I saw the image you put there in the beginning, I thought it would take something special to do justice to the image. To be frank the poem was absolutely perfect. Great job!

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  17. This is a most beautiful ballad. It could be as old as the sea. Lovely, Sherry! This is one of those "I wish I had written this" for me.

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  18. this feels like a myth or story that you might tell children...its cool the life you have given that burst of sea mist, turned woman---personally i rather like the sea horses in her hair....and the life energy she has....

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  19. So much image in this poem. It reminds a poem I wrote "Pandora". Beautiful writing!

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  20. this is most beautiful.. the beauty of a breaking wave, but also the sadness of perfection lost.

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  21. I always wanted to meet a mermaid . . . now even more!
    Mermaids - Wild women of the sea.
    Perfect subject for a wild woman to write about.

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  22. You've captured the spirit of the ocean with such beauty. I can see the Goddess as a motherly soul who protects all life.

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  23. It was like watching a movie, Sherry! Trust me...It's sooo imaginative! I love it.It's beautiful and has a great feel to it.

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  24. great use of imagery and fantasy, luv the companion photo; awesome write

    Have a nice Sunday

    much love...

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  25. packed full of mystique and story telling Sherry...all kinds of visuals and imagery... loved it...

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  26. Oh Sherry, this poem is one of your best. I love the imagery, it went straight to that place within me, which thrives on stories and magic and beauty. You really outdid yourself here.

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  27. how utterly beautiful this is, Sherry - inspired writing, as if the words found you in the deep...

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  28. Wow! What a powerful water element you have created here, Sherry! ~ at the end 4 last lines - I see little kids, listening to your story and open the mouth in surprise: "Why? " :)x Enjoyed very much!

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  29. Love love this Sherry---gorgeous imagery throughout--

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  30. You brought her to life well Sherry. Burst out of the sea and off the page.

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  31. you have captured this so enchantingly!

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  32. A living under the sea that creates that certain euphoria of romances of a wonderful story. Great write Sherry!

    Hank

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  33. I love the imagery you have created here, Sherry. This is a beautiful post.

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  34. Nice composition! I really the first three lines....create lovely imagery!:)

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