It’s in a little corner of the grotto,
Off the main tunnel,
A little pool,
Surrounded by algae,
And rock,
In a dark cave.

She waits until the baby is two-years-old,
Waits until it has swum in the reef,
And seen the colors of the coral and the fish,
Waits until it has laughed,
And played a few times.

She wants her babies to be happy,
So she lets them enjoy life,
Bask in its joys,
Before sparing them its sorrows.

The world is not kind to mermaids.

Between the hunters,
On the surface,
With their harpoons,
And nets.

Between the beasts of the sea,
The leviathans,
The giant squids,
The slimy eels.

Between the heartache,
Betrayal,
Regret,
Fear,
Tragedy,
Loss,
Hate,
Everything that stains life,
That mother can keep from her baby,
For only so long.

So,
For two years,
The child would know only bliss,
And love.

And on the evening of the second birthday,
Mother and child swim into the quiet pool,
In the corner of the grotto.

A poison coats mommy’s teeth and lips,
Mommy’s lips that kiss the baby’s lips.

Mommy holds the baby,
Until it falls asleep,
Until it stops breathing,
Until its heart stops beating.

Only when the heart stops beating,
Will she begin to eat.

She eats the flesh,
The muscles,
The stomach,
The heart,
The eyes,
The bone.

When she is done,
There will be nothing left,
For the cruel ocean to consume.

When she is done,
She will lie against the rock,
And wail,
And it’ll be heard for miles,
And for a few minutes,
The creatures of the ocean,
Land,
And sky,
Will know the mother’s pain.