Little Mermaid

I sang vaguely
To distant princes
Until I wanted legs
And became a dancer
Without a tongue
Now each step I take
Each waltz I make
Cuts my flesh deeply
My mute pain is invisible
Except for the rhinestones
Adorning my lashes
My sparkling eyes are
Called enticing
The soundless movement
Of my arms and hair
Reminds them of seaweed
Of the salty wetness I come from
Now they feel they have
Conquered me they sail my
Heart like a huge ocean
Pirates and conquistadors
That robbed me of my songs
I do not have a say in this at all
I cannot tell about lies and treason
I have to live with what they make of me
I am the silent dancer without a tongue
I bleed my way from there to here
My feet forever caught in shoes
Red as the warm blood that now
Constantly relentlessly
Runs out of my slashed veins

August 2006