My Sister the Mermaid
A troca shell is a cone shaped marvel, once
a mermaid’s purse, this shell of other life, a silenced
flute or lyre, has been a companion piece of mine
since I was four, a sometime shiny dragon’s tooth,
or trader’s quill, a sea urchin’s diving gear, drilling
treasures from the rock and coral of another time,
now lies in dust, cracked, faded featureless on one
bookshelf or another, time passed, tales we told
ourselves things would get better, hurt less, a souvenir
of ocean tears, the disappearance of a sister half
explained, in this shell she was a mermaid, to flip
a fluke, a coin, her silver tail, be done with this world,
placed safe inside the silent bell, until one day a want
of water and tale to spill, shattered peace of pearly shell.
Sarah Wallis is a poet and playwright based in Scotland, UK. In the last year work has appeared at Trampset, Lunate, Abridged and Finished Creatures, with recent work at Coffin Bell and One Art. A chapbook, Medusa Retold, is available from @fly_press and she tweets @wordweave.
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