In
a fire,
by a kingdom in a sea, there lived a fire
child.
This
kingdom was set apart from land, so that dignitaries,
wayfarers and merchants, had to come to
this kingdom by water. And come they
did,
by
boat, by ship and by mermen, passed the green waters of the sea, past the
roaring,
incessant
fires,
--to
the kingdom. In this kingdom
held the treasures of the water
world.
The
castles were built with delicate shell fragments,
iridescent insides facing out, and the
streets
cobbled
with rainbow-colored corals.
The
people prospered, for the king and queen
had been living happily ever after: this
was paradiso mer, a heaven
in the sea, dropped down from the sky.
Every
day the fires roared and every night
they subdued to a pacific blue, submerging
partially –
into
the sea. And every day
a
little Merboy would swim from the mainland to the paradise
in the sea, pulling on his shoulders
a little watercraft, or guiding a
larger vessel,
or
sometimes carrying a more stouthearted seafarer.
On his shoulders. His passenger would stand
on the boy’s rippled back, rippled like
the scales of a fish,
holding on to two ropes for balance
That
were in turn held by the Merboy.
Sometimes, he would fiendishly dive
his
head under,
pulling
his rider down
to his knees, until
the
rider trembled with feelings of unlimited dread,
for
those found floating in the seas
around paradiso mer were ever salvaged
from watery destruction
By
the fire sirens of paradiso.
Now
it was more than rumored, it was known
that
when a luckless sea voyager
had slipped from the shoulders of a
merman
and
floundered
until
no help could be found,
except
for the approaching sirens, he would submerse
himself forever under the waters of
paradiso mer,
rather
than be caught by those sirens. For traveling mishaps
were
like tiny cretins to these sirens,
Abundant and lawful forfeiture
to
the fires of paradiso.
Even
a miraculously handsome princess
had
fallen
--from the shoulders once, of this
particular
Merboy. Her stalwart manner
and
comely looks were unparalleled
in the lands known. Yet the Merboy
had
dipped and bobbed until she
had junketed and jaunted into the waters,
Pale
hair floating on the lapping waves,
bravely
watching the advancing naiads
encircling
her, closing in
On
her gracefully treading figure
with the folds of her dress
Transparently
soaked
by the green sea, looking up
to
the sky one last time,
until the sirens took their captive,
and waved in a long golden procession
back to the fires.
This,
our water child had seen,
with a queer sort of delight, and he keenly
picked
the flames for the little fire child,
who
he daily passed, for she was
always
at the edge of the fire. He had
purposely dropped
many a sailor into the sea
right
beside her,
so
that she
could easily snatch him
before
her sisters did.
Yet
she scarcely glanced at the fallen
hapless
souls; when she did, it was
with a shudder in her eyes, and she would
continue
combing
her long
golden
hair. The Merboy had never seen hair
as the fire child’s. It was long and shone
brighter than the fires in which she
bathed.
She
would take her fiery locks, dip them in the sea
beside
her,
and
run them over her body. The water would
roll down
her body in gleaming drops until -- they
fell below
the
fires, into the sea, where
they
would sizzle in a golden haze. . . Sometimes,
the Merboy would swim under the place
where
the fire child sat bathing and try
to catch those drops of water that ran
off her body. So far,
he
had caught hundreds of them
and had played with them in his cavern
by the shores of paradiso mer.
He had dipped them under and had
watched
joyfully as they vaporized like
mist in the water, throwing up a faintly
strangling
scent
that made him go weak, and
make
his fervor for more drops
double when his passion flooded into him
again.
He had decided to take the fire child
away
from the flames; she always looked
away into the watery extents, and Merboy
had begun decorating his little cave
for
the time when he would bring
her
back to his grotto. The collected drops
were faithfully placed in dark niches
for light and scattered
around the rough ceiling which
gave
the effect of a golden night. He had
strewn them
into a blanket of seaweed,
which was to cover them in sleep,
and
had strung
them into slivers of string,
Then
braided the golden threads together into
two
sturdy ropes. With these,
he assured his passengers that they, the
ropes,
were made of the fires
of
paradiso.
And
if his rider merely did not let go,
--he would be secure. This the land people believed,
ingenuous to the pitiless delight
our
Merboy had in grazing the depths
of the sea until his screaming rider
was neck deep,
holding on to the golden cords even
as
they sank into the sea, the cords popping
into
a hazy mist, all around the rider, who now
abandoned
by carrier and rope, looked
with
white stricken eyes towards the flames
that would carry him away.
At
night, the inferno
of paradiso mer
blazed
in on itself,
high
into the heavens, singeing the nightbirds
and stars, which fell like ashes to the
sea.
The
fires would settle into their pacific blue, bubbling
and purring little tongues
out into the ocean,
the
sky, and the sirens’ skins would be tinged
with blue--deep, beautiful. It was then
that
the fire child reached out her hand
almost
the color
of
the sea, and placed it in the water.
She
would convulse and, after a moment, snatch her hand
out of the water. One night,
when
Merboy had just thrown another rider
into the night sea, and the indigo lights
of the sirens could be seen fluttering
in
a single line to the human game and back
to the fires, he gently approached his fire
child.
Does it hurt? He asked.
Yes. Very much, for it is very
hot. She answered. The Merboy laughed.
The sea, hot!
Yes, sometimes I touch it for warmth,
but it burns me instead. I have
asked
that it not hurt me so, but it only replies
that I should not touch it. The fire child sighed.
Try it again. Merboy urged.
Fire
child slipped her hand
from the licking flames and sank her hand
into the sea.
She
wailed in pain as her hand
caught for a moment
in the water
then ripped open
as
she seized her hand back into the salving flames.
What is it that holds you? Merboy,
anxiously. How would he bring her to their home?
She:
It is a compelling scorch, that peels
my skin from itself and bleeds me back
into the sea. Oohh
. . . she moaned . . . The fire child’s
face
bled into a chilly blue steel.
Merboy dove and thrust himself into
the fire, only burning
himself
against a wall of flame
and wet heat.
He
was knocked backwards, burnt,
and calling for his fire child. She lay back,
quiet,
eyes closed.
Merboy swam around
her
until the flames had lapped themselves
around
her, cocooning her hand
until she fell into sleep.
At
home in his cave, Merboy thought furiously how
he would save his fire child
from the water so that she could come
live
with him. He corded his golden ropes
through the night, and woke
to a white morning, with the sun bleached
of
color and warmth, and the winds
whipping the seas in gray discord. The
fires
of Paradiso Mer
Were
sullen and low,
--and on the horizon came a goliath
Seafaring
vessel, that held an uncountable number
of men and animals. At its stern
were
a man, iron gray,
and
his two children. The boy was a small,
placid boy,
with
ruddy locks and pale complexion. The
girl
was
a vivid ebon-haired girl one year
younger than her brother. She stood stout
as her father and scanned
the
waves for the legendary
merman that sank the ships
of
the wealthy and baptized
the monarchs of the dryer realms.
The
bright pennons flapped loudly in the wind.
Father, do you see our merman?
Black one asked.
From
his watery cave, Merboy stared,
Fantasizing the great wreck of
history. How would he do it?
with
showmanship, élan,
and lots of victims for his fire
child.
He
pulled the heavy golden
cords in his fists and swam to the
irresistible
progress
of the ship.
Black
one waited, the sweat
rolling down her neck, the chills
sending
tingles down her body. She had waited
since childhood,
when
she had read of the
great Paradiso Mer and the perils
innocent
folk faced when crossing the sea.
There
was a fantastic merman
guarding the gates to Paradiso, and
Black one
wanted
him for herself. She had plotted it
long
ago and had found a witch,
which she gave all her desires to,
all
save the merman. The hag in turn had
given her an unction, so oily
that it would never mix with a sea
of water, and so greaseless it would
never
burn
in the hottest of flames.
Black
one held the vial that held
the unguent in her hand. Her eyes
pierced single waves in every direction
for
miles. Then he came. Swimming up
with a briny smile, his skin
faintly
tinged a light olive. Black one
. . .smiled back down.
Ahoy! My merman!
What say
you we go for a ride? Black one asked jauntily.
Merboy
freely and easily turned to offer
her his back and the skiff lowered Black
one
to the water. Merboy lifted her
onto his back, handed her the cords,
and cautioned her to hold tight.
Red
one, Black one’s brother,
watched them speed off, and begged his
father
to steer directly to the fires, and Red
one
also
readied to be lowered in a boat,
as the immense sailer hastened to the
flames
of Paradiso Mer.
On
his back, Black one whooped
and screamed with joy. Her skirt
whipped
tightly against her legs,
like breeches, and the water spayed
onto her bosom, soaked with water, and
taut
with
fervency. Merboy swam in circles,
enjoying
himself, delighting
the
beautiful black girl on his shoulders, so that her end
would be more of a delight. Yet, Merboy
did
not see as Black one uncorked her vial
and
spread some of the unguent along the golden cords.
As Merboy began his descent, the cords
remained
braided.
Merboy sped to his Fire child,
to show her the beautiful sacrifice
he
was giving her. The great vessel
came
from the opposite direction, raising the heads
of
a thousand sirens. They looked
to
Merboy,
where was he? Fire child,
not wanting to see the giant ship die,
looked away, and saw Merboy
carrying
a black-haired beauty, her face
intense, her lips howling, the sea
spraying
salty crystal drops through her dark mane.
Merboy
had a look of fantastic desire,
and Fire child looked away.
The
ship anchored
by the fires, but stayed
at
a distance away from the elongating flames
that seemed to stretch out
to
the vessel. Red one, lowered himself
and rowed to the edge
of
the wall of flame. He scanned the
faces, the most rare
and fastidiously lined faces he had ever
seen. The eyes
sent
out the souls of a thousand. The cheeks
quivered
in countless emotions, on the brink
of many movements, but muted
by
the many laughs
and cries
and
groans. The lips were lined
at the corners, exquisite,
turning,
full in one, stretching madly
in
another.
The
brows were creased and smooth
all in the same colliding passion. Their tresses
waved
with urgency,
never calming, always flowing
in one direction or another.
Their
figures were gaunt
and their bellies full.
Their
legs were sublime and Red one
looked away.
Their
tongues wagged
precious promises, and their hands
meshed
through the fires, cool, singular, enticing, and encircling
Red
one in their grasp. He twisted
himself away and rowed at a distance. At one edge,
he
saw Fire child combing, with
heavily
down her body. He approached and moved
close
to her.
Will you save my sister?
She: The one riding Merboy. It was not a
question.
Yes.
Yes! Yes! He will drown her
into the hands of your
sisters. Fire child
continued
running her fingers through
her heavy locks. They grew
a
deep red. Seeing her
implacable,
Red one offered
a way into the sea where it will cool
you and you can finish your serenity.
The Red one,
--desperately.
She:
How so? As Merboy came
skimming
into Red one’s boat, thinking
of a double offering.
of
Red one and Black one.
Merboy, Fire child said, Sink
the girl.
I cannot, he gasped, She will not fall!
Fire
child, with drops of fire
streaming from her eyes.
Give her up to the sea!
Black
one laughed, He cannot, will not.
You see
how I ride him though he would sink
me.
It is his desire that I hold onto him.
Red one: Sister, let him go!
Red one commanded,
the vial from his sister and tore
Fire child from the flames. She gasped
in
the air for breath while Red one
frenziedly covered her with the
unguent. Fire child collapsed.
What have you done?
Merboy shrieked and sobbed:
his
Fire child had lost her radiant lustre, and lay
there, like a beached animal, oily, greasy,
slimy. Her tresses
had been immolated, her eyes
had
washed a deep blue. Fire child looked
up at Merboy, the light flooded from her
skin.
Will you still take me to your home,
Merboy?
He choked, strangled, whipped Black one
from off his back
and clutched his Fire child in his arms
and carried her back to their watery
grotto. Inside,
the
lights of her water beads cast a sickly glow on Fire child.
Oh, put them out, Merboy
she moaned.
Quietly, he snuffed out the lights and
covered them
with
the blanket of seaweed, less the lights.
It
had been a while, and they were not happy.
Merboy was not happy because Fire child was
sad.
She was sad for her lost brilliance and
she was sad
because Merboy could not love her.
He:
Why is it so needed? I have never
stepped into Paradiso Mer. I
cannot.
It is a haven of dry things.
She:
Yet I am here, out of the fires. Fire child
said earnestly. I have become like those
in Paradiso Mer for you.
And thus discontented,
Merboy,
sighed, kept their grotto
beautiful,
and set out to know
the land of Paradiso Mer.
It
had been another while,
and Fire child was sick
with longing for her Merboy and she
combed
her
golden tresses,
a pale gold, mute
in comparison to their former
dazzle.
She
climbed out of the grotto, up the sides,
and to the top,
to
see her Merboy. Nothing.
She
sat on the roof of the grotto, her legs
to one side, her hair
to
the other, as she often
sat
in the fires,
and ran her fingers
through
her long hair, singing lightly, and dipping
her
hair into the seashell
filled
with water at her side. She rubbed
herself
with her hair and the water
beads
rolled off her oiled skin.
Then
she thought, Now I can swim and she rose
from the roof of the grotto and dove
into
the
sea, where she swam, torpedoed
to
the bottom and dove up, high out
of the water, in a long beautiful arc and
cut
the water like a knife again. Thus she swam for days
and
became like her Merboy.
One
night,
he
came back.
His
eyes were black
and deeply carved out in hollows,
his skin was a golden hue. The watery smile,
the
saline must was not about him.
His hair was dusty.
He came back,
ready
to love Fire child. And where
was
she?
Merboy
climbed
to the roof
of
their grotto and saw his fire child dancing in the waves.
With horror and a strangled
hold
on his throat, he climbed
down from the roof.
He called to his Fire child.
She came swimming
up
to him, a briny smile
and
seaweed in her hair.
Look, I have come back to love you. He said dully.
She:
Oh, come in,
swim with me But
Merboy would not.
He:
I have gone to Paradiso Mer,
to become for you a love that you wished, and washed
myself of the sea, with dirt, soil,
and treasures ravaged from the sea.
I have asked the lowliest to the grandest
sage,
`How do I love my love? How
do I bring back her beautiful flames?
Why is there no fire in Paradiso
mer?’
And they laughed at me, saying that I
was of the sea and Paradiso
was of the land and that to win you
was like bringing hell into heaven. Would I have that?
So I must go back to you.
We are stricken from Paradiso Mer,
my love, we are stricken,
and I am dry.
He slumped into
the shallow
depths of the water. Fire child
laughed,
all abandon. She: Come, swim with me!
and she raised herself
up
to kiss him
with her wet lips and led him
into the sea, into deeper waters, where
they swam
for
a while,
close to the fires of Paradiso Mer,
For
many days and more nights,
until exhausted, the sea closed in
on Merboy and the fingers
of
the sirens came, relentlessly,
gloating in their countless faces
the
fate of their sister, carrying away
the limp body of Merboy. Some sang,
some cried for the boy
who
gave them so many, and finally, himself.
Another
while
and the great vessel came sailing
from
Paradiso Mer back to the mainlands.
Fire child swam up to the stern.
Red one, oh how you have killed us!
Merboy is in the hands of the sirens.
Red
one looked strickenly at his sister.
Black one, hardened, said,
You would not let me have him, so now
he rightly belongs to your sisters, all of them! She
turned
from
the edge, and left
her brother standing there, sadly down at
Fire child.
Red
one, sadly down,
Wait here.
He came back with darkened hands,
and sadder still
and the vial.
Instructed:
Break it in the fires. And threw
down the vial to Fire child.
She
clutched it tightly in her fist. And
swam
to the fires of Paradiso Mer.
As
she approached, she made out the faces
of her sisters, every detail
was kept in her mind.
She
knew, she felt
and yet a vague unfamiliarity, a gory
sense
invaded her wet body as she stepped
from
the waters, into the fires
and felt the crushing force
of all the screams, skins, and joys
that
had come into the fires. They licked
at her tender feet, they lapped
at her briny hair and it caught fire,
gleaming like the sun, whiter
than
the stars.
She
stepped deeper into the fires,
past her sisters, sisters with potency in
them,
cursing their desires, so many did they
have.
Fire
child saw him, in the face of one
of her eldest sisters, peering out,
fighting
to be seen, struggling against the lineaments
of
a thousand others,
contorting her sister into a gruesome
image.
You always did look into the sea, little
sister.
Merboy
tried calling out, his voice lifted in a lilting soprano—of fire child’s
sister.
Fire child! Your hair!
And Fire child lifted her hands
towards
the casement of her sister,
sunk her hands into a morass of heat
unbearable,
and let her mind go insensible
as
she lifted Merboy from the body of her sister.
He
collapsed on his knees, his face,
against Fire child’s belly, his skin
wavering in a thousand ways. Fire child lifted Merboy,
staggering under the weight,
struggling against the blinding
fires.
As
she walked past the laughing tearing faces of her sisters. They howled
and spit fire at her,
goring her with flames,
through her breasts, her arms,
her hands, her feet. She stumbled,
she
staggered, almost to the edge.
She
fell, and began pushing, feebly,
Merboy to the water. The waters
licked
the fire and they tussled
and
danced, loved for a moment before vaporizing.
Fire child looked
upon the still body of Merboy. His eyes fluttered.
He
saw Fire child,
enveloped
in flames inside and out, her skin
peeling
away like ice popping in water. Fire
child
felt the tremor of faces build up in her,
and then, almost with as many faces,
looked once more,
sank herself into Merboy’s bosom, and
with a strangled tearing push,
sank
him into the water.
Fire
child’s skin burnt like a husk,
her body shriveling against the flames,
falling
onto and crushing the vial,
while
her sisters drew in on her. Of a
sudden,
her
flames leapt high
into the air and shuddered
into a myriad of golden ashes, suspended,
hardly
falling,
drifting with the winds, until
Merboy
wakened
in the sea and swam up to the night sky
clouded with golden dust. They fell,
gently, rained down one by one, while below
Merboy
swam to catch each falling dust before
it hit the water and broke
into
a thousand more pieces
and hazed
the
waters for many days.
He
collected the ashes,
incessantly,
until
he could one day have them all,
and reshape his love again into a figure
of cool gold, melded
by
the wetness of his hands.
*~*~*~`*~’*~*~’*~*~`*~”*~`’*~*~*~*’~*~*~*’~`*
Dragon, the Damsel, and
Dreams
Back to Home Page, Poems, and Haikus
Please
send your suggestions and poems to ssalnogard@yahoo.com
-- I would love to hear them!