Selkie

This poem was written in response to the Rattle® Poetry Ekphrastic Challenge for October 2025 and was ultimately not selected. You can find more information here.

https://rattle.com/page/ekphrastic/

Selkie

Many times,

Since the day my soul was stolen from the sea,

The moon has pulled the tides across the sand

Where, when I was younger once, I shed my skin

Curious of the world where men walked

I let my human legs touch land

And let a man whose blood was warmed by the sun

Touch me

A fire like that does not burn beneath the water’s surface

And for a time, I was happy

But my heart always yearned to return to the sea

For years I searched until I found it

The thing he had taken from me

Hidden it away, to keep me imprisoned upon the land

Now I stand naked upon the shore

Salty spray hits my face

And in my hand, my freedom

I wade into the water and slip into my sealskin

Letting go the anchors

That weighed me down to the earthen ground

The gulls sail with grace upon the wind

I hear them crying out,

“The water maiden has returned!”

The waves wash over and transform me

At last I have answered

The summoning of the sea

Submitted under MRB