my veins bleed salt and my heartbeats
crash with the rhythm of the waves; you cannot
imagine a storm that heaves with the blooded
fury that marks my wrath. my skin is not
smooth; lashed by wind and brine, it is rough as the jagged
corals, and coarse as the mouths of
sharks. my smile is as sharp as theirs.

my song will lull you into stupor, and then I
strike. to sleep here is to drown. breathe and you will
turn to ash beneath the heaving salt.
inhale
me and you will exhale the tides.

my teeth are not fangs for
nothing. you call me
siren: I am the seas.