la sirena morena

// by Isabella Ponce

una diosa sagrada:

of tides & coalesced stars;

o

quiet morning

sweet & silent

dew-filled.

a dawn

breaks unto a blood-soaked

spot of clay,

smoke & sea.

empty your earthenware

talavera

pores & relapse

into the deep gloom

of that which is yours

& mine.

una mezcla

sucia

abandonada 

in the space

between dawn 

& daylight,

where salted shores weep;

the last lifeblood 

from their open sores swirling

with bloated seawater,

expanding.

she drinks

la sangre y las lágrimas,

in her morning cup of coffee,

instant-brewed & 

stratified.

look closer & see

a dwindling reflection 

in the streaks

of coffee & milk,

dark & light,

blood & tears:

una sirena morena.