Did some force take you because I didn’t pray?

Could we go back if I promised to be grateful?

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

What struck me coldest
that first time watching On Stranger Tides:
the cruelty of forcing a mermaid to cry.
Was that the turning point? When was it that I
morphed from an openhearted child
into this siren who funnels her tears inside
until the salt infuses every cell of every vein
and I’m left drowning out…