Decoupage for a Mermaid

stuck
by tiny hands
iridescent, her wave
to sea dwelling sisters
in preparation
she shifts weight
a bare footed babe
on salted plinth
tulle billowing
counting constellations
floodlit
her farewell
to scaled flesh
slit from the gizzards
each step
now a torment
as Dali cave
cragged in relief
jutting jawed & monstrous
witnesses
the violence of sacrifice
on gilded rock -
patterned
in 5-toed scarlet
tattooing lost innocence
as dawn stoops
to tuck in the stars
the sea bed weeps
for a lost daughter