Mermaids

From the waves I see them,
Three women, engrossed in each other’s laughter.
They take a selfie,
Arms wrapping each other closely,
Laughing
Heads flung back
Hearts open.

I emerge to the shingle
And cover myself in my pink towel tent
And as I do
they strip,
flinging clothes into a pile
layer after layer
until naked they run shrieking into the sea
swooping and ducking
like dolphins
arching,
flicking feet
raising high arcs of sun scattered drops,
glistening
skin
hair
let loose
from ties
finning out behind them.
Angel fish.

As I drag reluctant clothes across damp skin
they chase each other
onto the sand
and towel-less in their spontaneity
they spin and dance
chase and hug
welcoming the wind
and soft sun
to dry their skin.
I sit wrapped,
rapt as
they squat like
child
Buddhas,
Children of the sea and surf,

until slowly
they gather up their hair
and rein it in
slip into slacks
pull on tops and tie their shoes
to sling over their shoulder
as,
smiling to me,
they link arms and
dance off.

And as I watch them
a memory nudges me of when we three
sisters in surf and skin
rose at dawn to down the hill
to a warmer shore
before the fisher boats came home with their night catch,
before the tourists
inflated the beach with parasols,
before our children woke.

Did we,
(or am I imagining,)
but I am sure we swam in only skin
from one cove
around the sheer
black rocks
where sea griffins flew
above the cavernous blue
crystal,
fearless
laughing
kicking
emerging newly evolved onto a farther shore
where lay like goddesses
resplendent in
our bones and breathe
sharing hopes and hurts
silence and the high cry of sea birds
warming
emerging
resting,
exhilarated
alive,
awake.

I look back
and see us swim slowly back,
scramble to cover nakedness
from the peopled shore
before climbing the steep hill
back to motherhood
and coupledom.

As we lay on that hidden cove
at dawn
basking
in our friendship
we did not know
of the breaking
apart
and open
we would all face
separately.

as I watch the three mermaids
recede along the
shoreline
I think of you two
in that clear blue light
brightness
where we undulated
easy and free
and wish that for each of you again
for me
for we
three.

If you enjoyed reading this please share it with friends. You might also be interested in talking to me about coaching , or maybe try some of my online courses (some are free), or treat yourself to a climate protecting pamper with vegan friendly, organic Tropic which supports the planting of forests and education in deprived areas.
Thanks for being here.
Julie