Fisherman’s Daughter   by J.R.McRae

The fisherman’s daughter, she dances the fish!

She dances the fish in their silvery gowns 

All the way over,

All the way down,

“Come quickly, my pretties,

Come sliver-fire flash!

Show me your colours,

Leap high, wide and splash

Down into the fish-trap my father has set!”

The fisherman’s daughter

Weaves them a dance,

They follow her leading

Without backward glance.

She dances, she dances,

They leap and they dive

Mercurial lances,

That shoot the wave live!

She dances, she dances,

The foam horses prance

Down the long waves

Racing fish to the shore!

Wave horses turn,

But the fish can no more. 

She dances, she dances,

They follow entranced,

One after the other

They tumble and fall,

Flipping and thrashing

Held fast in her thrall!

Into the fish snare,

One after the other,

Unthinking, unblinking,

Their numbers enmesh,

Caught fast, 

A seething turmoil 

Of writhing flesh!

She laughs and claps

As the men draw the nets.

Her father smiles

But her fate is set,

For the deep sea demon saw and heard,

Reached out

And swept her

Away to the deeps

And there he has kept her.

Alone on the cliff-top ,

A lone figure weeps… 

J.R.McRae’s writes award-winning poetry/haiku [Blood and Other Essentials… poetry collection out soon], novels [Free Passage, Cats’ Eyes] & short stories. Included in Quadrant Book of Poetry, 2000-2010, Basics of Life [ALR Anthology], Trust and Treachery, Colours of Refuge, Antipodes, Social Alternatives. Artwork/photography features in Musings: A Mosaic, Best of Vine Leaves, Prints Rhyming Anthology. As J.R.Poulter, she writes award-winning children’s books and heads Word Wings Books. Websites: http://www.jrmcrae_subversive.weebly.com, http://www.jenniferrpoulter.weebly.com/  www.wordwings.wix.com/publishing