Challenging Poetry

everywhere magic

I asked a child where the magic was—
and her eyes got wide with stars.
Magic fills the world, she said. Everywhere.

once upon a time, a man caught a mermaid.
she offered everything—love,
immortality, treasures beyond the world held
by a million ships caught by the sea,
if he let her go,

         but he couldn't see her.
all he saw was a fish big enough to feed his children.
all he saw was their hunger, hollow eyed and empty.
all they saw was magic, worth more than simple meat,
so they took the mermaid back, no reward asked.

but this is a fairy tale, and in the morning,
he found a basket of food from the sea on his step,
enough to feed his children. and he wept.

and ever after, from his cleared eyes
he could almost see her under the sea.

line count: 18