redheaded dreams

heavy foot in front of the other
little redheads are always mermaids
five with a world on your shoulders
and sirens sing lullabies to a watery grave

i tasted salt on the shells my nana gave me
i tasted salt on my skin in new york city
in shadows of towers
that are neither earth
nor sky
learned young not to jump
because girls can not fly
so windows were paintings
and my brushes were dry
slept dreams where the oceans
and forests collide

and i of the city
full of irrational dreams
believed not in a land where the woods kissed the sea
or in climbing red caves with my hands and barefeet

i quieted my heart and fell for years into sleep
where epics are tall tales
on a blank screen for dreams

a mermaid loses the salty lustre of her skin
after she has forgotten the ocean
and the dream of returning to the currents

the seagulls dont recognize her
the siren songs fade
shells grind themselves into sand