mermaid life

by Susmita Ramani

you ride through storms on 
the backs of dolphins, 
laughing into the wind

savior of the drowning,
explorer of shipwrecks, 
adventurer into secret
underwater caverns
salvager of flotsam, architect 
of shimmering, invisible
sea-floor kingdoms–

you have a weakness
for humans, akin to your 
love of caviar — a superb 
light snack in the romance 
department

© Copyright Susmita Ramani

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Susmita Ramani’s work has appeared in Pure Slush, 365 Tomorrows, The Daily Drunk, Secret Attic, 100 Words, Six Sentences, 50 Word Stories, Vine Leaves Press, The Drabble, and other publications. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two daughters, and eleven pets.

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Read the Rest of the August Issue

• The Heart Sings A Siren by Ali Trotta
• A Nereid’s Guide to the Underworld by E. Catherine Tobler
• Depths by Thomas Jones
• Mammiwata Bay by David Ishaya Osu
• Only Circles in the Sea by Carlie St. George and Clare McCanna
• Twenty Thousand Last Meals on an Exploding Station by Ann LeBlanc
• An elegy for voices Ariel traded for legs by Agwam Kessington
• Dream by Mila Nowak
• mermaid life by Susmita Ramni
• Mystery of the Deep by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
• more fat mermaids by Linda M. Crate
• Waking Dream by Kim Coleman Foote
• Honey and Vinegar and Seawater by Keyan Bowes
• They Will Try to Drain You by Valerie Herron
• The Sea King’s Second Bride by C. S. E. Cooney
• Self portrait as an ocean bed by S. Rupsha Mitra
• Mami-Wata by Tony Ogunlowo
• Underwater Eclipse by Cito Wheelington
• Loving the Other: Hans Christian Andersen and the evolution of mermaid romance in Wester media by Carrie Sessarego
• What Mother Failed to Mention About Dating a Mer-Man by LindaAnn Loschiavo
• I Want to Be Where the People Are: Disability and The Shape of Water by Elsa Sjunneson
• I Am Not Your Tragedy by Carlie St. George and Clare McCanna
• Canto for a Mermaid by William Heath