Mermaid Smiled

From pools of xylophone clear
From caves of memory
I saw the children at heart
That we once used to beBorne on foaming seahorse herdCompose with trumpeting shell
From lines across their hands
A song as new as new moon
As old as all the sandsShrank to stagnant from Atlantic wild
Lost that child 'til mermaid smiledSummoned by drum rolling surf
As laughing fish compel
The young boy woken in me
By clanging diving bellBreakers pillow fight the shoreShe wriggles free in the tide
I'm locked in adult land
Back in the mirror she slides
Waving with comb in handI was lucky to remain beguiled
Grown to child since mermaid smiled