Mermute

Awd Man is bound

to his chair of sticks

sand sucked

he waits

sand fucked

he waits

bockle give me my bockle

my blue plastic bockle

he wants his blue plastic bottle

he thinks to stand

he blows

he rages

he blows

to hold tide back

to crack the crust

his cheeks

they crack

fr  u  ck

fr  a  ck

he would laugh

but his breath comes hollow

and his eyes are black holes.

Child builds a tower of sand. A tower of sand. A sand tower. She places red cellophane windows and green bottle top doors. She builds an arch. A sand arch. She digs a moat. A moat for a boat. A blue plastic boat. A boat. A boat. Water fills the moat. The boat floats. Floats under the arch. Under the arch. Under the arch it goes.  And Child is happy.  She plays and pl

A song comes to Child.

She sells seashells shall shells sell shall she sill shell she shll she shall shell in your ear like. Shell. She. Sea. She seashells. Sells she. Sells she. Shell sells she. Shell she sells. She sells shells.   On the seashore.  She sells on the seashore.  She sells seashells on the seashore. Sh

On and on she sings.

The tower of sand is high. High is the tower. The tower of sand is dry and high. Dry is the tower of sand. Tower stands. Arch sta

Child stands.

Today is Monday. Monday is today. The day is Monday. She swims on Tuesday. She does not swim on Monday. She swims on Tuesday. No swimming today. No swimming tod

No swim

No swim.

Awd Man waits.

At his feet

a sea

oiled pools

knell

light sopped

rainbow ribbons

stream roll and spume

a confetto of colour

left in tide wake

sketch shoreline new

new line.

Bolt shot.

Awd Man sighs.

Arms outstretched.

All is done.

A twist of particles unbound

Child’s feet are knives.

She sits. She cuts.

Child shuffles to shore

dragging her legs.

Dragging, dragging.

And they will not come.

No, they will not.

Cut sand. Cut glass.

A piercing of flesh.

Blood stepp'd.

In blood stepped.

She is in blood.

Stepp'd in so far.

And so, it begins to unwind.

If only she could slip into the sea

she should grow a tail and swim.

Drop into the sea

loop and wave with the sea.

A toy. A toy.

Child sees a toy.

A toy she sees.

Oh! A twisted rubber candy cane.

A rubber double-headed fuck duck.

It’s a duck a duck.

She licks and licks

lickety split

raspberry split

cotton candy pink

bombshell pink

neon pink

naughty pink

hot pink

baby pink

Child unmade

following no plan[1]

arching back to the tower[2]

flying or swimming[3]

the bodies rising[4]

the turquoise sea of bodies[5]

coughed up residue[6]

time reeling backward[7]

the mermaids in the basement[8]

go back to gravel[9]

[1]Amy Clampitt, At Muker, Upper Swaledale

[2] Adrienne Rich, Waking in the Dark

[3]Elizabeth Bishop, Seascape

[4]Rich, ibid

[5] Marianne Moore, The Fish

[6] Clampitt, Beach Glass

[7]Rich, ibid

[8]Emily Dickinson, I started Early – Took my Dog

[9] Clampitt, ibid