• A jeweled disc
    Among the pebbles of the beach;
    Opaque amber, smooth as cream;
    Sparkling with the rays of the retreating sun
    It calls me to it
    In a silent siren song.
    I bend to pick
    This treasure in the sea;
    The waves wash my gritty hands and silty feet;
    Then grey-green shelled crabs
    Dance in a circle,
    Clicking their claws in time,
    To a mermaid singing.

    The song is about my siren jewel,
    From the treasure trove of Mother Sea
    The waves, her caressing hands,
    Smoothed and polished it.
    Then the truth,
    It’s nothing but broken glass.

    The singing stops
    The crabs withdraw,
    Their castanet claws clicking in time
    To a different beat.
    I close my hand tightly
    Around the amber glass.
    It’s warm from my touch;
    Raising it to the level of my eye
    I see the neon sky -
    In a different light.