aphrodite crawling back to the sea
back to the salt of her birth
aphrodite swallowed by the whale
for the love of darkness and warmth
aphrodite punished by god, which god,
any,
any who will punish her
aphrodite swimming
floating like a corpse
in the places of the sea where
nothing is born
aphrodite starving
in a storm of the sea
battered by waves
hungering without need
of nourishment
without need
of mortality
aphrodite approached
by the shark
tasting the edge of her
with its teeth
aphrodite the bride
to a shoal of little silver
beings swimming
as one
tickling the salt-weary
pink of her flesh
aphrodite lost and holding
on to a choice
of whether to be born
once more
from the sea
and step foot to the shore
or become
a mermaid
uncaring for love
