elysian seas

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
M.X. Kelly

elysian seas

 

when the moon has reached

its zenith

she will rise

from uneasy slumber

shake off the wizard’s captive curse like waterdrops

                               then she will glide

                                                   softly

                                                   silently

                                                   secretly

                               down to the shore

she will rise on awkward new legs

in the foamy surf

while hours float by

measured in seaweed trails

she is watching, waiting

                               hugging herself

                                                   lingering

                                                   lonely

                                                   longing

                               for what has been lost

she will wade

into the deep waters

and swim farther out

to touch the white face

of the risen sun

                               the buoy bounces

                               with the tide

                               and as she reaches it

                               her new legs give out

                               falter

she starts to slide

beneath moon-caressed waves

ironic she thinks as she touches smooth

skin where gills once opened airways

that i should meet such an end

                               she closes her eyes

                               and smiles

                               well…

                               at least i am home

______________

M.X. Kelly lives in Tampa Bay, Florida with a coffee pot and a tuxedo tomcat named Moyashi. She works as an underwriting traffic coordinator for public broadcasting, a writing tutor at the local community college, and an editor of a speculative fiction magazine, The Were-Traveler. She has had poems and stories published across the known ‘verse. Recently her poem “A Pop Culture Fairy Tale Tweet” was named Honorable Mention in a poetry contest at Science Fiction Poetry Association. You can learn more about her adventures on her website at http://mxkelly.weebly.com/

Editor’s Notes:  The painting, “Selene,” by Albert Aublet (French, 1851-1938) captures some of the texture of this poem.

Elysium or the Elysian Fields (Ancient Greek: Ἠλύσιον πεδίον, Ēlýsion pedíon) is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. Initially separate from the realm of Hades, admission was reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes. Later, it expanded to include those chosen by the gods, the righteous, and the heroic, where they would remain after death, to live a blessed and happy life, and indulging in whatever employment they had enjoyed in life. (Cited from Wikipedia)