"Mermaid" by Juliette Sebock

Mermaid

I.

2006, eleven years old.
Pop-Pop, the historian,
turns stormchaser.
We walk outside,
swim along the sidewalk.

I lost my dollar flip-flop
in the not-so-Hidden River.

II.

2011, a not-so-little mermaid.
Mom plays Bill Paxton
so we can take some pictures.
Tom shares my favorite shot
on his weather show.

I share it on Facebook
in case my friends don’t have windows.

III.

2018, still under the sea.
I check in with friends in Liberty City
but they’re on the other side of the river — safe.
Poseidon moves closer to home,
his trident pinning you in that same damn small town.

People joke just to compensate:
Even Olympus wouldn’t be safe.

Juliette Sebock

Juliette Sebock is a Best of the Net-nominated poet and writer, and the author of Mistakes Were Made, Micro, How My Cat Saved My Life and Other Poems, Three Words, Plight of the Pangolin, and Boleyn, with work forthcoming or appearing in a wide variety of publications. She is the founding editor of Nightingale & Sparrow, runs a lifestyle blog, For the Sake of Good Taste, and is a regular contributor at Marías at Sampaguitas, Royal Rose, Memoir Mixtapes, and The Poetry Question. When she isn't writing (and sometimes when she is), she can be found with a cup of coffee and her cat, Fitz. Juliette can be reached on her website, juliettesebock.com or across social media @juliettesebock.

Headshot: Deborah Sebock

Photo Credit: Shayne Schultz