Lost in
Urban Landscaping # 17
I grew up with mermaids
I would go to Weeki Wachee when ever I could
it was like the Annual Folk Fair
Or more like Tarpon Springs full of Greek people
It’s an ethnic thing
You wouldn’t understand
in Downtown St. Petersburg, Webb City 5&10
they had a Mermaid working behind the luncheonette
counter, She would always give me extra Ice Cream
when I was a kid, I thought she was perfect
Dad told me not to marry a woman like that
The paper ran an article about how the younger
mermaids have turned their back on the traditional ways.
Weeki Wachee has to offer courses,
so that mermaids can learn their culture.
They have forgotten
how to lure sailors
into the shallows
They have forgotten
where to find Davy Jones’ Locker
Skinny dipping in the Gulf of Mexico
Mermaid caresses the back of my neck
her tail brushes against the back of my legs
the slimy massage causes a shudder
Her briny taste permeates my mouth
her scales press tattoos over me
She wraps my naked body in seaweed
and brings me to Atlantis
Where I finally feel at home
