Living in the Mermaid’s Shadow

I watch my love,

almost a mermaid,

standing in the kiss

of shoreline and ocean,

washing sand from

her glistening form.

In the pause

between tides

I tie a hope line,

strong as

my inglorious life,

to her toe.

She swims through it,

hardly noticing my intent,

only her friends

crowding around,

reflecting her noise.

Shadows pass her face,

gravely drip

down her body

as her rising beauty

drifts away from me

and the setting sun.