Mer-Man-ifestation.

Mer-man-ifestation.

I was left adrift~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
alone and desperate in the Pacific

after the boat I was

traveling on capsized

in a storm with

all hands lost

but mine.

But my fingers broke

free of the oceans grip and

I grasped a rubber raft

that had floated free

I mourned the loss

of two dear friends

and so many

other good men

but I soon got

into a condition

where others would

be mourning me as well

My skin stretched

taut over my bones

sunburnt and raw

to the touch

my emergency rations

ran out and I was left

chewing on the

leather of my shoes,

for sustenance,

with three swallows

of water left,

and miles of

and endless emptiness

surrounding and

killing me slowly.

Then she quite

suddenly appeared,

with a quiet splash

her blond mane,

and lovely emerald eyes

peeking over the orange canvas.

I was sure my end was near

and that I was

just hallucinating

till she whispered

comfort to my

long silenced ears,

even though most

of my replies

through my

salt cracked lips

and parched tongue

were inaudible.

She hand fed me

for several days,

a wondrous substance,

something I had never tasted before,

liquidy and meaty,

but I had no fresh water

and my body was

running out of time

Thirst was the number

one killer of humans

when they are hopelessly

lost at sea

So in between

her angelic visits,

I slept face down

and protected from

the sun under a woven

blanket of cool seaweed.

that she had made

and kept wet while

I dreamed only of her love,

and how blissful it would be

to make her mine,

On the tenth day,

when death had me

firmly in his grasp,

in spite of all of

the care given,

I awoke to the

strangest of feelings

in my legs and hips.

The air seemed to

grow thick and strangulating,

as the entire lower

half of my body

was encased in scales,

glimmering in greens and golds,

with a huge tail

flopping eagerly

in the bed of my raft.

I realized then that

I was losing my tolerance

for air and for any fresh

water sustenance

She then rose beside me

and tipped my island

of air towards her,

and I fell into the waters

and breathed their

salty, joyous salvation.

We swam away together,

hand in hand to

the deepest paradise,

where many other lost sailors

shared mermaids

and a brand new way of life

and all that was left

and recovered of my life,

before I became a merman,

was the empty shell

of the raft that carried me.

bobbing on the waves

that had now become my sky.

Much later symbolically

I was buried at sea...Alive

by those on shore who loved me

just a wreathe tossed

in remembrance far from where

I had begun a whole new way of life.