Of Sirens and Mermaids

Of Mermaids and Sirens

By RedJay123

Riley, son of an able seamen,

Lost long ago in battle at sea,

Found his eyes crossing, his breath heavy from yawning,

The morning sun’s light shining brightly,

His own sword and scabbard glinting off of it



Riley himself has been in many battles before,

But he was a veteran on a much smaller plain,

His wars didn’t deal with the winds of Zephyr and monsters of Odysseus,

It dealt with the Harpies and Furies of Hades in their mortal form



Every day, on the deck of Santa Maria II,

The demons would fly over; their snouts pointed, their toes flat, deceptively white and small,

Cry out their terrible broken cry,

And leave their usual gift of excretement on the ships top floor, as winged sea-things do,

Their entire platoon disappearing into the air before Riley could launch a response



So, every day, as soon as they leave,

His scabbard and sword cleaned and sharpened from the night before,

Cutting through the horrid monsters’ presents with cabin boy pride,

Each swipe of soapy water ripping each of them to shreds

One day, after he was done with his daily on the deck,

And, of course, the other chores Cook assigned to him,

He put his sword and scabbard away into the ship’s broom closet,

And waited for the next half-hour bell to get his daily food ration from Cook, possibly begging for more



Once he passed old Cook’s quarter’s however,

He caught sight of cream white stockings over a cot,

Billows of black hair swept over a soft shoulder,

Large eyes glued dully on a porthole



Being in his fourteenth year,

Riley was considered a man in any accounts,

And the young pretty figure hidden in Cook’s quarters looked around his age, if older,

So I guess you could say she was a woman



‘A woman aboard a ship?’ thought Riley to himself,

‘What bad luck has befallen Santa Maria II!’

Sirens were known to lead sailors to their deaths,

He hoped no one spied rocks in the lagoon



He heard stories before, he knew that Odysseus used,

Candle wax to plug his ears, to shield away from the Siren’s song,

But what use that would be, if the Siren herself wasn’t singing?





Perhaps he should get his sword and scabbard,

That ought to shoo her away,

All he needed to have else was a mirror,

Perseus taught as much a long time ago



Riley stopped to consider himself,

As he hid himself in the darkness of the crack in the door,

‘She was very pretty’ he thought to himself,

And with her hair well-done and her formal evening gown,

And with his own messy auburn hair uniform the Cabin Boy Calvery,

He felt very underdressed indeed



What odd color her dress was too,

Dark-blue, sea-green, her skirt a formidable tail,

But as he admired this young figure, he caught himself narrowing his dusty eyes,

‘Send the mermaid back to sea’



Now, Riley had been contemplating the mermaid or the ship’s demise,

For more than a few minutes,

And still he had not acquired his food ration from Cook,

The flavorless biscuits, rum, pickles, and eggs nearly forever forgotten



However, his body didn’t forget,

And soon his stomach turned traitorous compromising his position with a long, low and loud grumble



“Who’s there?” said the girl from Cook’s quarters, looking towards the door,

And Riley made a hasty retreat,

He nearly stumbled over his own feet,

As he disappeared up the steps, back into the kitchen



He sat there, waiting for Cook,

As he should have done at first anyway,

And soon Cook arrived,

With the mermaid girl at his toes



Cook explained to Riley that she was a friend’s daughter (A baron or the like),

And that he smuggled her on the boat, the old Santa Maria II,

Until they reached their next part



As Cook got their rations, Riley’s and Serena’s,

The girl smiled at Riley,

As if smiling at an old friend,

As she sat next to him in her pretty mermaid dress,

With him slowly falling under the Siren’s spell,

As we all do, every now and then



THE END

(…For now, anyway)