Short Poems - Running The Gauntlet

A Shattering Tail

In a world full of tangible magic
and flying whales,
One such creature was cruising through the clouds, but it was lonely.
It was excluded by the others
For blending with the clouds.
A ghost whale.
Below, in the kelp forest, was a mermaid.
With curled hair that flowed with the sea, and a tail of the finest turquoise,
She was admired as the queen of the ocean.
But she hated the attention, and hid in the slimy tendrils of kelp,
With the baby turtles and an octopus.

The whale sang its mournful song,
and the mermaid felt a deep sorrow.
What could make any creature feel such sadness?
Calling to the whale, they talked.
She comforted the whale.
Promised everything would be OK in the end.
Why would such a beautiful mermaid care about a lowly ghost whale?
What pain has the whale gone through to be so upset?

When the whale recovered, after many a day,
They continued spending time with each other.
The mermaid admired the whale for being humble, and the whale loved the mermaid's sense of humour.
"What did the whale say when it was frustrated? Whale then."
"I'm not that talented."
They found themselves falling for each other, falling in love.
It pained the mermaid to leave the whale, and go back to the murky depths.
It hurt the whale to say goodbye, and return to the clouded sky.

The mermaid talked with the wise old octopus, and pleaded for advice on love.
"If you join the whale in the sky, you wouldn't survive a day.
If the whale joined you, he would evaporate into a smoke-like cloud. He would be a storm cloud, and disturb the peaceful seas."
"Oh octopus, what should I do? If I leave him, it would tear his wispy heart apart. It would shatter me, and turn my heart into shards of the finest sea glass! But I want to be with him..."
The mermaid let the sentence hang in the air, like the breath on a winter's night.
"You must make a choice, and talk to the whale."

"Whale?"
"What is it, oh mermaid?"
She explained the predicament, and the whale's face fell.
"We could continue to talk like this, with you near the rocks and I near the cliff."
"But I want to be closer to you."
"So do I, but we must make a choice."
"Is there any other way out of this heart breaking situation?"
The whale denied, and both of them cried. A single ghostly tear fell down the whale's cheek, while the mermaid's tears exposed her weaknesses. She was falling apart, and soon she would crack. They both shattered.
"Goodbye, dear whale."
"Goodbye, beautiful mermaid."
Before the whale could drift away, the mermaid called out,
"When it rains, look for rainbows. When it's dark, look for stars, and always remember me."
"Mermaid, you are my star of the ocean."
She swam away, he drifted, both heartbroken.
Shattered by tears.