Next Time, Merman
- Next Time, Merman
The merman strolls among us, Fresh out the water, dripping.
He sings ocean blues. He votes. His collar hides telltale gills.
(Kinda hides. Besides, he’s got water pumps hooked to his mouth and a fishbowl helmet. He’s noseless. Be polite, okay?)
The borg-mother votes too, Follows her programmed duty.
She sings what the radio plays. Her skin cloaks wires.
(Sorta cloaks. Her skin’s translucent. The wires look NASA-quality. Her pupils are red dots of light. She presses metal lips to her baby’s nose.)
He alone admires her robot spawn, She hums his fishy tune.
He could show her the ocean floor. She could teach him Linux.
But the timing’s off. It always is. Tomorrow’s a hateful maybe. [End Page 5]
Marcus Pactor’s collection of short stories, Vs. Death Noises, won the Subito Press Prize for Fiction. His fiction has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. “Next Time, Merman” is his first published poem. More of his work is available online at www.marcuspactor.wordpress.com.
