Sirens’ Call
Roots twist through the deep you cannot see
My own prompt for Dorie Snow/雪多丽 May Flowers Poetry Prompts here
Write about a flower that shouldn’t exist.
Why shouldn’t it exist?
Where did it come from?
What happens when it blooms?
What does it want?
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Along the shore where tall grass sways
And tide pools gather black as coal
Luminous flowers bloom inside the caves
Half buried deep in silver soil
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They open only after dusk
When moonlight touches the sleeping sea
Their petals white as whale-bone husks
Their roots concealed beneath the reeds
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No gull would land among these blooms
No seal would surface near their shore
No life can thrive in their dark pools
No nearby waves with thundered roar
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Yet still the fishermen draw near
Boots raw with brine and salted sand
For something sweet drifts through the air
And calls to them from marsh and strand
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And when a man leans down too close
To breathe the fragrance from the bloom
The whisper drifts soft as smoke
And draws him shoreward from the dunes
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At first it comes beneath the wind
A cloying voice inside the tide
A woman humming low and sweet
Somewhere beyond the waterline
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Then in the dark he hears it clear
Between the crash of waves at night
His name unfolding through his tears
As softly as a lover’s voice might
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The women watch from up on land
As men wander toward the shore
Tracking wet footprints through the sand
Long after midnight stories told
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Mothers nailed driftwood to their son’s doors
Wives burned salt herbs and said a prayer
Some filled their men’s ears up with wax til sore
And spoke of flowers to beware
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Still every season more men come
Drawn wandering through the reefs
Past swaying reeds and moonlit caves
Toward flowers gleaming sharp as teeth
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And always there beyond the tide
Where black water consumes the stars
A shape would wait beneath and hide
Still as the sea before a storm
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At first they’d see only her hair
Drifting below the silver foam
Flowing like a drowning prayer
Men reached for strands they could not hold
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Then delicate shoulders beneath the murk
Two watching eyes within the waves
A mouth curved softly in the dark
Knowing she leads them to their grave
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The men walk deeper into the sea
Water climbing cold to their cores
Their lantern flames begin to flee
Like dying stars along the shore
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When at last she rises enough to glance
For moonlight to reveal her smile
Her teeth shine white and sharp as fangs
Beneath her beauty something vile
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The men press on though their ending grim
As though they see no danger there
Until too deep they have to swim
Their eyes reflecting silver hair
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“Isn’t she beautiful?” they sigh
As black water entombs them whole
Devoured and smiling the whole time
Their blood the only proof of them at all
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Next night the flowers reappear
Blooming beside the calm seaside
Roots twist through the deep you cannot see
Feeding on the graveyard below the tide
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The Sirens’ Call blooms every night
In marsh and cave and hidden cove
Along the curves of moon bathed shorelines
Where doomed men wander far too close
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Share the tale of how the Sirens feed
When their song unheard in melody
For all the warnings men do not heed
Luminous flowers lure them into the sea
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Thank you for being here.
For choosing to sit with work that isn’t polished for comfort, that doesn’t soften its teeth. Writing is how I exhale the pieces of myself I can’t carry quietly. It takes time... between work, life, dog, and all the little ghosts trailing behind me. If my words have found you, your support helps me build my career as a writer and keeps my heartbeat alive. 🖤
Support my dream of becoming a full-time author with a paid subscription. If you can’t contribute financially right now, simply subscribing and being here means more than you know. 🖤



I really like this
I LOVE THIS!!! I love that you took that story, "The Siren's Call" and wove that into the story! This was BRILLIANT!! Love it!