Haiku Friday – Pink & Shell

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“She is a mermaid, but approach her with caution. Her mind swims at a depth most would drown in.”

~J Iron Word

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An enchanting mermaid swam through the oceans of the world trying to forget her past. You see, not long ago she found a young man resting on a strip of sand punctuated by palm trees, and it was love at first sight. She lured him to sea and they swam together. They kissed and caressed, as they laughed giddy with pleasure. She held him tight and plunged into the depths, failing to remember in cruel bliss that even lovers drown.

So she swam and swam, all the while the distance she created did not relieve her heartache. She came to a mystical land of pink sandy beaches. Relieved to be far from the terrain of men she rested. The ocean sighed and brought in the tide and as she breathed the salty air she felt a stir in her middle. She rubbed her belly and felt it pop. Soon after, she realized she was with child.

Although the child would be offspring to the one she had lost at sea––the one whose blinding smile still burned in her eyes––she swore to the ocean she would always care for it. But when a male babe was born in the likeness of her lost love she did not know how she would keep her promise. Every day she fed the babe and cared for him, only leaving him at night when she returned to the sea. She always left him sleeping, swaddled in palm fronds in a small trench she dug near the water.

Days turn to weeks and as the little male child grew, so did her suffering for he reminded her of the lover she held too long underwater. Finally, one night she prayed to the ocean goddess asking for help. After hours of tearful prayers she went into the sea to sleep with the coral. The next morning she awoke and swam dutifully to the pink shore to feed and care for her child.

When she arrived to the area where she had left him for the night––he wasn’t there. Swaddled in palm fronds was a large conch shell. She picked it up and examined it in her hand. It was the most exquisite shell she had ever laid eyes on. A soft, mellifluous sound escaped the shell. The mermaid lifted it to her ear and heard the voice of the ocean goddess, “This is your baby boy. He shall be easier to care for now.”

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She danced with coral

Happy as a clam with pearl

Till in love she fell

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Pink and Shell are this week’s prompt words chosen by Ronovan Hester of Ronovan Writes.

Ron hosts a challenge that anyone could participate in called Ronovan Writes Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt Challenge every Monday, and you have until Sunday to create a post featuring your haiku poem. He is an author and poet and also does author interviews and much more on his blog. Be sure to check it out. Read Ron’s Haiku Prompt Challenge Guidelines for more information.

 

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Have a happy Friday, everyone!