Monster (Poetry)

I know all the dead men afloat in the bay
and the sharks with their bite-me-quick teeth
all the giant conger eels seem quite friendly by day
but at night a strange shape haunts the reef.

And it shadows me up through the moon-fishing tide
then lurks between rocks on the beach
though I skim like a dolphin and weave side to side
it stays close — but remains out of reach.

It leaves not a footprint along the wet shore —
not a sign that it follows my trail
though I’ve turned in an instant — it’s vanished before
I can see what’s behind me — or hail

whoever — whatever — my stalker might be —
some shy monster — a devil — a ghost
who’s been constantly — silently — pursuing me
on my night-time patrol of the coast.

In the dark he looms massive — impressively tall
though his silhouette shrinks when it’s bright
like some mythic sea creature no mind can recall —
unrecorded by day or by night.

My sisters are mermaids — true nereids — and tough —
they’ve warned me the word has gone round —
though I normally don’t pay much heed to such stuff
they say Jack the Kipper’s in town.