The Mermaid

The Mermaid

After Pablo Neruda

All the men were inside by the fire
When she entered, utterly naked.
They laughed and threw ashes at her
that stuck to her flesh.
One took a poker and prodded her.
The stench of beer and sweat wrapped itself
around her hair,
that lay in tendrils wandering
to her waist.
Laughter broke over her head
Look at the slag
their shouts clogged her throat
Check out those gems.
She stood, looking at the floor.
Her eyes were full of fire, muted behind emeralds.
Their words tore the moon from her belly.
Under her skin she was full of seafruits,
plums, and raspberries.
They saw a cheap tart, and spat.
She stood with her pale arms in front of her
Her eyes had the look of far away seas.
They started to clap
and the smoke stained her skin
She streaked to the sea
She dove in and swam,
trailing moonlight.
Clean as a bone,
she laughed to her grave.