Siren Voice

Her voice is pretty and silvery,

like the glint of a sharp edge 

cutting off the waves, catching my ear 

like a hook. Soon my body dances.

Desire snakes into the open air

as her spell-song nears,

snaring me down. I board the plank,

briefly glimpse in the sea myself,

my open throat, hands outreached

ready to plunge. 

The whale watches me sink

like a silenced stone. 

One long swallow

and I’m home. 

The belly’s walls are dimly lit,

shadowed by my ship’s split mast. 

I trace the tongue’s braille-like bumps 

and begin to see a little clearer. I exhale,

misting the warm air

with pieces of myself. 

Above my forehead,

on flickers a little flame.

Text: Audrey Michel