“The Once and Future Mermaid”
The girl is getting up, feeling taller as she stands,
But the steps are few and tentative-the legs are not her own.
She’s letting another support her, hold her up like a rod or spell
-It’s not all her doing that there’s now imprints in the sands.
Her decision had been murky, made under tons of weight.
He had been unhappy, her funds depleted to a shell.
Comfort stripped down to debris, she agreed to this great loan.
She’s moving forward now, but her mind crashes on the bait.
She needs approval now; it’s all that can change her world.
Mark her steps into her own dance; place her feet firm without pain.
Now the tension’s wrapping round her, the fear and frustration swirled.
Her joy is lost in oceans deep; her inner critic clips her brain.
Unfamiliar nerves make each step seem off, sharp, and hard.
The pressure pushes her true voice down, as if another owns it.
Her pride and beauty snip away as the worry and silence stone it.
She tries to smile, to get what she wants, but seems to only draw one card.
The girl is walking tall, looks at home inside the walls.
She’s in the right place, but can’t seem to leave the halls.
Time is ending, her debt is large, and she knows not what to do.
She came with dreams and suffered with hope, but it may or may not come true.
The steps are leading up…
Perhaps these will take her through.
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