Passing the Torch
She swims, I'm told, every day,
her fetus cushioned in its own sea.
Her body, taut and agile,
like the eternal mermaid.She beguiles with startling blue eyes
which drill deeply down,
down into the water of your being.She gives birth--quickly,
almost easily--to a new one of her:
a little mermaid ready
to learn the siren's call
from the flesh of a master.August 1999
Barrington, RI
