Fishwife

Of course he fell for her
when he found her
in his net;
who wouldn’t fall
for a half-naked,
golden-haired girl,
with sea green eyes
and a sexy,
iridescent tail?

He plied her with gifts
and enchanting words,
and she found herself lost
in his deep brown eyes,
gladly saying ‘yes’
when he asked her
to marry him;
not realising
he was only there
on holiday.

‘Home’ was inland;
as far from the sea
as it was possible to get,
and the further they travelled
from the preservative brine,
the more it told on her.

Fishwife

Blue-green scales dulling
to dirty bronze; her skin
(and other assets)
gradually shrivelling;
her hair coarsening
to the texture of old kelp.

Shrunken,
she breathed her last
as he carried her
over the threshold.

He took her
to his workroom;
bottled her, carefully,
in fresh water,
and put her on the shelf

with the others…