LIP BALM FOR THE DISCERNING MERMAID

I float like flotsam
On a wave slow
Silken swelling
Heaving me higher
Where no fear
Foe or fire
Can reach.

I am tossed within
Diving in glassy satin
Silver silence
I am lost to all
Falling through
The blinding blue
Star hands opening.

Sea-burned
Lips splitting
On a liquid cry
Smooth spilling
Unravelling thirst
Salt taste
Of you.

Manuela Cardiga