An Ode to Muses to Kleio

Calypso & Poseidon

You smell like crystals of wet salt.
I am your lonely sailor.
I walk along your unwavering shores
And count the seconds down to departure.
I cannot swim,
Yet, I still jump.
You rinse me of my scent and strip me bare,
Until I am naked on your lonely island,
Doomed by your brother's wrath.
I fell into the ocean that birthed me.
I too smell of Aphrodite's sea foam,
Only now, I am your prisoner.
You send me fleets of lovers galore,
With such foul tongues that would make even a pirate blush.
Yet, they do not come nicely wrapped in bouquets.
They come in glass bottles shipped with souls.
Handwritten messages I receive from each armada.
I break each soldier I touch except for one
And decorate my home with their shards
That you fashion into colorful sea glass
For my kaleidoscope fortress.
Your colors of the sea dance with the light of my fake gems.
I am led astray by their unspoken love story.
I lay nude on the white sand, ready to be taken home.
Yet, I cannot make love to the shore
And weak-willed men do not suit my appetite.
I require a Navy to carry me.
You mock my requests by gifting me a waterbed,
So I dream of diving every night.
The only water I feel when I wake,
Is the sweat from a cold fright.
Again, I sail your waters alone.
I forget the sound of your voice
And pick up shells to hear your call,
While I breathe into your mist.
Iris is envious of my rainbow house
And does not accept my parcels.
She tells me to talk to the walls since she found out I recorded the ocean's echoes.
Now, I am left to write my name on the sand as Helios kisses you farewell,
I plead for Selene to pull the tide away from my deep imprints
Because the squid refused to give me ink.
Maybe I'll mail myself in a bottle with the splinters
And maidens will deliver me before I drown.
I hope the last thing I hear is your melody,
A mermaid's lullaby.
Bathe your mistress with your saline desires,
Sing me your siren song.