The Siren’s Longing
a mythological poem about a hungry siren in love, waiting for her beloved
Somewhere between hunger and heartache, a siren waits. Her voice carries over endless water and it doesn’t simply want to lure just any ship closer, but to experience the world through the connection she has with the man she loves.
This week’s poem is a nod to one of my favourite mythological creatures. I really love mythology and legends and they inspire much of what I write, and I hope to bring forward a little bit of the morbid joy that sirens awaken in me with this piece.
The Siren’s Longing by Zeta Ferrer
I wait for you my darling captain
to sail to me upon the waves.
Come dawn I ask the sun above
which way my love now stays.
I picture you, all festive-clad, at helm,
your voice, like the ocean’s deepest rumble –
You answer only to my loving song.
How long, my captain, still,
until you come to me home?
I peer at the horizon for mast and sail
of groaning wooden ship
and only find the endless sea
like a restless maiden’s heart.
When will you come to wash away
the salt from hungry lips?
Your sweetness with a tinge of rum,
the scent of far-off cities on your coat,
your tangled mess of hair;
they make me crave my captain love.
I’m tired of the smell of seaweed,
of barnacles that rub my feet.
Where do you stay, my dear? Make haste.
Come close.
When you hear the siren’s song,
come linger in my arms.
To read more fantasy poems by me, I recommend my two current favourites: Changeling and Tidewritten.
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When I read stays I thought strays. Maybe because a sea captain is always on the move🙂