THE HALLOWED POOL

(This poem continues the witch’s story. See THE WITCH’S REQUEST.)

Headfirst the witch plunges,    

Straight as an arrow shaft,       

Swift as a crested tern.   

Churning waves hit her face,    

Sharp, spiteful slaps that hurt.   

Salt water stings her eyes.    

A rebuke for her request:    

She has dared to covet youth,  

Dared to choose mortality.     

She dives to the chilly depths, 

The cold biting and piercing    

The marrow of her old bones.  

No fish, no plant, no rock   

On the sea floor: just gloom, 

Water black as squid ink. 

Her heartbeat grows steady.  

A gleam of hope, a spark.   

A surge of energy.              

Her limbs now lithe and lovely,

She swims with ease and joyful

Still remembers how to smile. 

Nymphs, hair ribboned with seaweed, 

Float into view and beckon. 

‘Come. Follow us. You are safe’.