Mercilla
Mercilla dwelt deep in the realms of the drownded
she tended the desolate reef of despair
and raked through the bones of unfortunate sailors
long-lost where the darkness had hidden them there
She tutored the mermaids in magical mischief
schooling the sharks in tradition’s cruel ways
she sang to the Kraken the wickedest lyrics
and thus he slept sound in his echoing caves
Her voice conjured tempests to tear ships asunder
the wail of her curses brought terror and grief
when she whipped up the water to whirlpools so fiercesome
they tugged every fast-sinking vessel beneath
She wrecked whole armadas on impulse — mere fancy
quite deaf to the prayers of those caught in the storm
hard-hearted as stone, grey-green eyes glinting sharply
devoid of emotion she felt only scorn
for those pitifully weak and peculiar creatures —
poor humans who scrambled and clung for dear life
crying out to their god in his faraway heaven
untouched by their peril and blind to their strife
Old as the centuries, doomed as immortal
Mercilla feared nothing, and least of all Death
for nothing could harm her or limit her power
immune as a phantom, no feeling, no breath
One aspect did niggle her — proving vexatious
she lacked reputation, her name was unknown
all due to the fact that her deeds catastrophic
left no one alive to report she alone
was responsible — rather they’d blame superstition
for all those disasters to which she laid claim
those few who’d been witness were down with the fishes
dumb piles of white bones in her chilly domain
Then it happened one night that she spied a lone vessel
a fishing boat strangely adrift on the tide
just one man aboard who’d been left there forgotten
when the crew in sheer panic jumped over the side
The fever that gripped him was shed the same moment
Mercilla appeared through the storm-blasted night
as her terrible laugh broke him out of his coma
dog-paddling shipmates sank out of her sight
He gazed at her drunkenly, called her an angel
and she, in her turn, felt unusually drawn
to this wreck of a youth who, naive and yet charming
was so very handsome her conscience was torn
Hesitating to strike him, instead she decided
to quash every impulse to kill and destroy
a victim herself to the strangest sensation —
a warm inner glow as she stared at the boy
And so she released him unharmed and unhindered
he sailed home to safety with stories to tell
of this nightmarish monster who’d acted so tender
despite she was deadly and scary as hell
Then from his description a fantasy artist
produced a good likeness for study and show
and experts agreed she was unknown to science
so planned to explore further fathoms below
The boy (known as Jack) did his best to dissuade them
he warned that Mercilla might eat them alive
the fact he was young and good looking had saved him
or else he was sure he would not have survived
Brave or just foolish, those boffins ignored him
their grand expedition to regions unmapped
was in all the papers such was the excitement
it got the attention of gung ho-type chaps
who, mad for adventure, signed up to go diving
the dark murky seabed Mercilla called home
rashly believing they might make their fortune
exploring those depths underneath the green foam
Thirteen in number, without trepidation
the party set off for the same far-flung port
where Jack had been rescued and rumour persisted
of some ancient monster too sly to be caught
They’d harpoons and dragnets in hope they might trap her
and drugs to sedate should they chance to get near
but Jack had his doubts for Mercilla was crafty
an expert in cunning and conjuring fear
Two men in a bathysphere lowered down slowly
the rest wearing diving suits, flippered and armed
they sank through those waters, morale fairly buoyant
as though they were certain not one would be harmed
The seabed dipped sharply — became a grim valley
rough with its rockface, the water soup-thick
when out of its dimness Mercilla surprised them
appeared in an eye-blink — alarmingly quick
She grabbed at the bathysphere — shook out the contents
like it was no more than a tin of sardines
then toyed with the figures who dangled so helpless
the water transmitting low bubbling screams
She swallowed them whole as the rest of the party
scattered in terror — her mindset confirmed
as a flesh-eating demon from some Hell dimension
beyond sane invention, the cruel lesson learned
So, each man for himself, they hid in the rockface
those dark yawning caves or cracks narrowly grooved
and foiled their attacker, impatient with searching
she grabbed and she snatched at each shadow that moved
At last she gave up, as though bored or distracted
but time had run out for a number of men
their air tanks exhausted, they’d died in the darkness
that final adventure the ruin of them
But Jack, plus two more, by some fluke or strange mercy
had just enough oxygen left in reserve
to make a bold dash for it — risk she was lurking
they prayed for the courage and quietened each nerve
Then broke from their cover and dashed for the surface
frantic for freedom and knowing the cost
of foolish mistakes — reckless miscalculations
resulting in failure and everything lost
She zoomed like a rocket, her eyes wide and glowing
from where she’d concealed herself, sly as a fox
then fixed on the last man, who struggled, legs trailing
she lunged for his ankles, her focus so locked
that she failed to see Jack, who’d hung back on an impulse
to help his companion and fight for his cause
now he signalled quite wildly to draw her attention
till she dropped the limp man from her barbarous claws
She paused, then she smiled when she recognised Jack as
the boy she’d spontaneously spared and let go
and she felt once again that disturbing sensation
stopped dead in her tracks by its pleasant warm glow
Made brave by her sudden near-gentle demeanour
Jack felt that a show of good faith would perhaps
encourage Mercilla for even a moment
allow her most horrible habit to lapse
He swam to her side with his heart pumping painful
and reached up to kiss her — lips warm on cold skin
she blinked once or twice, caught it total amazement
then her features relaxed in a wide toothy grin
She blushed for sheer pleasure and sent the three packing
they swam to their ship anchored calmly above
fair winds took them homeward and into such legends
that tell of a monster who found human love
Since when she’s the saviour of all who go sailing
she rescues and preaches to those who will hear
“all life is salt-blooded, with roots in the ocean
all kin to the fishes ...” her message sincere
Writ large in the pages of seafaring annals
Mercilla achieved undeniable fame
for charity, kindness, goodwill to all creatures
true nature spelled out by the sound of her name
she tended the desolate reef of despair
and raked through the bones of unfortunate sailors
long-lost where the darkness had hidden them there
She tutored the mermaids in magical mischief
schooling the sharks in tradition’s cruel ways
she sang to the Kraken the wickedest lyrics
and thus he slept sound in his echoing caves
Her voice conjured tempests to tear ships asunder
the wail of her curses brought terror and grief
when she whipped up the water to whirlpools so fiercesome
they tugged every fast-sinking vessel beneath
She wrecked whole armadas on impulse — mere fancy
quite deaf to the prayers of those caught in the storm
hard-hearted as stone, grey-green eyes glinting sharply
devoid of emotion she felt only scorn
for those pitifully weak and peculiar creatures —
poor humans who scrambled and clung for dear life
crying out to their god in his faraway heaven
untouched by their peril and blind to their strife
Old as the centuries, doomed as immortal
Mercilla feared nothing, and least of all Death
for nothing could harm her or limit her power
immune as a phantom, no feeling, no breath
One aspect did niggle her — proving vexatious
she lacked reputation, her name was unknown
all due to the fact that her deeds catastrophic
left no one alive to report she alone
was responsible — rather they’d blame superstition
for all those disasters to which she laid claim
those few who’d been witness were down with the fishes
dumb piles of white bones in her chilly domain
Then it happened one night that she spied a lone vessel
a fishing boat strangely adrift on the tide
just one man aboard who’d been left there forgotten
when the crew in sheer panic jumped over the side
The fever that gripped him was shed the same moment
Mercilla appeared through the storm-blasted night
as her terrible laugh broke him out of his coma
dog-paddling shipmates sank out of her sight
He gazed at her drunkenly, called her an angel
and she, in her turn, felt unusually drawn
to this wreck of a youth who, naive and yet charming
was so very handsome her conscience was torn
Hesitating to strike him, instead she decided
to quash every impulse to kill and destroy
a victim herself to the strangest sensation —
a warm inner glow as she stared at the boy
And so she released him unharmed and unhindered
he sailed home to safety with stories to tell
of this nightmarish monster who’d acted so tender
despite she was deadly and scary as hell
Then from his description a fantasy artist
produced a good likeness for study and show
and experts agreed she was unknown to science
so planned to explore further fathoms below
The boy (known as Jack) did his best to dissuade them
he warned that Mercilla might eat them alive
the fact he was young and good looking had saved him
or else he was sure he would not have survived
Brave or just foolish, those boffins ignored him
their grand expedition to regions unmapped
was in all the papers such was the excitement
it got the attention of gung ho-type chaps
who, mad for adventure, signed up to go diving
the dark murky seabed Mercilla called home
rashly believing they might make their fortune
exploring those depths underneath the green foam
Thirteen in number, without trepidation
the party set off for the same far-flung port
where Jack had been rescued and rumour persisted
of some ancient monster too sly to be caught
They’d harpoons and dragnets in hope they might trap her
and drugs to sedate should they chance to get near
but Jack had his doubts for Mercilla was crafty
an expert in cunning and conjuring fear
Two men in a bathysphere lowered down slowly
the rest wearing diving suits, flippered and armed
they sank through those waters, morale fairly buoyant
as though they were certain not one would be harmed
The seabed dipped sharply — became a grim valley
rough with its rockface, the water soup-thick
when out of its dimness Mercilla surprised them
appeared in an eye-blink — alarmingly quick
She grabbed at the bathysphere — shook out the contents
like it was no more than a tin of sardines
then toyed with the figures who dangled so helpless
the water transmitting low bubbling screams
She swallowed them whole as the rest of the party
scattered in terror — her mindset confirmed
as a flesh-eating demon from some Hell dimension
beyond sane invention, the cruel lesson learned
So, each man for himself, they hid in the rockface
those dark yawning caves or cracks narrowly grooved
and foiled their attacker, impatient with searching
she grabbed and she snatched at each shadow that moved
At last she gave up, as though bored or distracted
but time had run out for a number of men
their air tanks exhausted, they’d died in the darkness
that final adventure the ruin of them
But Jack, plus two more, by some fluke or strange mercy
had just enough oxygen left in reserve
to make a bold dash for it — risk she was lurking
they prayed for the courage and quietened each nerve
Then broke from their cover and dashed for the surface
frantic for freedom and knowing the cost
of foolish mistakes — reckless miscalculations
resulting in failure and everything lost
She zoomed like a rocket, her eyes wide and glowing
from where she’d concealed herself, sly as a fox
then fixed on the last man, who struggled, legs trailing
she lunged for his ankles, her focus so locked
that she failed to see Jack, who’d hung back on an impulse
to help his companion and fight for his cause
now he signalled quite wildly to draw her attention
till she dropped the limp man from her barbarous claws
She paused, then she smiled when she recognised Jack as
the boy she’d spontaneously spared and let go
and she felt once again that disturbing sensation
stopped dead in her tracks by its pleasant warm glow
Made brave by her sudden near-gentle demeanour
Jack felt that a show of good faith would perhaps
encourage Mercilla for even a moment
allow her most horrible habit to lapse
He swam to her side with his heart pumping painful
and reached up to kiss her — lips warm on cold skin
she blinked once or twice, caught it total amazement
then her features relaxed in a wide toothy grin
She blushed for sheer pleasure and sent the three packing
they swam to their ship anchored calmly above
fair winds took them homeward and into such legends
that tell of a monster who found human love
Since when she’s the saviour of all who go sailing
she rescues and preaches to those who will hear
“all life is salt-blooded, with roots in the ocean
all kin to the fishes ...” her message sincere
Writ large in the pages of seafaring annals
Mercilla achieved undeniable fame
for charity, kindness, goodwill to all creatures
true nature spelled out by the sound of her name
|
