~ From Mother To Mermaid ~

At eventide’s end,
someone stands upon the shrinking shore,
resplendent on the rocks,
willowy and white,
lingering in the light
of a dawn that drags the day from dreams.

Hers – the breasts to which a babe once clung.
A neck ‘round which a husband’s tears were hung.
Sister … mother … daughter … wife;
she’s played all the leading roles
upon the stage of life, but now she’s bored,
yearning more.
No purity in prayer:
“make me your whore”.

Author notes

Image: Miranda - The Tempest - by John William Waterhouse, 1916 (sourced from Wanda's archives 2009 ). This was for another contest but the piece was stubborn and did not turn out as I wished, so it's being posted as a non-contest entry instead!

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Dael Gabriel
November 3

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Powerful stuff!
I must say the ending of this hit me like a brick! The imagery was so delicate and somehow innocent even if siren-like - but the choice she makes in rejecting all her previous roles, is that freedom? Or servitude? or perhaps a chiaroscuro of both - the juxtaposition of such dilemmas and opposites makes this terribly compelling...
Disturbed Prodigy
November 3

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one of the many tears the sea carries, makes me see in my mind a kind of old time when that was what uneducated women were forced to be, but not here, she has more of a story, she was what they conceded educated but after a few turns in the thing we call life, she found herself there and something about the sea comforts here. at least that is what i see. not all of it, i don't think have enough space to tell the whole story i see, keep it flowing, i enjoyed reading this a lot