Island of Everlasting Pearls

I was born starboard,

the sway of ship like my

mother’s rocking arms.

But the captain refused

to tell me who

she had been—

an unnecessary remnant

of a life not granted

to seafarers.

There was once a mermaid

I imagined could be her—

a forlorn stowaway,

tracing the legend

of a pearl that promised

everlasting life.

She confessed

the night before

her fins were stolen

that she dreamt

of giving it

to a princess

who was cursed

and only had a year

left to live.

If she were my mother,

I wondered,

could I transform

like her, escape

to the open sea,

and chase

the distant thrumming

I heard mostly

on cloudless nights?

I was casting for fish

when she was mutilated,

and it was too late

to repeal the captain’s

greed,

but instead of leaving

her to weep and bleed,

I sent her away

with a dingy

and a map to the nearest

reef that was known

to grow

the oldest pearls

in hopes

that she may be able

to save her princess—

the best ending

I could offer her tragedy.

Months later,

after a ruthless storm,

when I found myself

stranded and pursuing

the Heart of the Sea,

I swam toward the island

of everlasting pearls, unsure

if I wished to find her

or the promise of eternity.