During Hurricane Sandy, I Had a Mermaid in My Basement
I named her Jayne Mansfield. When she was floating
in my basement she was my greatest secret, like having
a private tea with The Queen. She stayed until the FEMA money
came through and I had to pump out the saltwater. Hydraulics
and magic took her away from me. We sea-mailed. She
followed me to Florida, to the warm gulf waters, dropped
a line about swimming with a new merman, promised
I would be safe during Irma, Ian, Nicole,
angry children all. She saw the Little Mermaid
at a drive-in movie skirting her reef. Now, she wants
to make a deal with an eel—
lusts to walk in red soled Louboutin stiletto heels,
try warm-blooded men. If I let her back in,
ICE will take her away to a cold brick detention center.
A fish out of water, there’s no reasoning with a mermaid who bathes
in lemons to get rid of her fishy smell.
About the poet:
Vicki Iorio is the author of the poetry collections Poems from the Dirty Couch, Local Gems Press, Not Sorry, Alien Buddha Press and the chapbooks Send Me a Letter, dancinggirlpress and Something Fishy, Finishing Line Press, The Blabbermouth. Alien Buddha Press. Her poetry has appeared in numerous print and on-line journals including The Painted Bride Quarterly, Rattle, poets respond on line, The Fem Lit Magazine, and The American Journal of Poetry. When Vicki is not writing poems she is either on her Peloton bike or drinking a crisp white wine.