The Selkie: Captured From the Sea

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Abstract

the sea, my folks, my true nature.</i></p><p id="2516">The fisherman refused, to lure her home. <i>Become my wife, you will be happy here.</i> Choiceless, shell-shocked, she followed him — promising herself to find a way back.</p><p id="7f84">Years went by. The selkie tried to find her skin, and failed. Coming to terms with her fate, she was a wife in the fisherman’s shack. Feeling half content, half empty, always sad.</p><p id="b471">Every single day, she went to the shore. Cried salty tears of longing, right into the sea. Her wedded captor still refused her pleas, as much as she refused to give up hope.</p><p id="4567">One day at the beach, tears running in streams so heavy they send ripples over the water. A big fish appeared, gasping for air. <i>I escaped your husband’s nets, but I heard.</i></p><p id="1d6a">The selkie rubbed her human eyes. <i>Yes,</i> the fish said, <i>he told the skipper about your skin, hidden in the boats’ stomach.</i> Blubbering these words, he dived under.</p><p id="c8c6">At night, the fisherman snored in his dreams, she was running to the harbor. The boat swayed softly in the moonlit sea — through the porthole, a faint glimmer.</p><p id="3fcc">The selkie’s beautiful seal skin. She rattled the door until the lock became loose, and pulled her sorely missed shell over her human form.</p><p id="6a77">Becoming her true, aquatic self, she vowed never to set a foot on land again — or to

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approach any human. With a loud splash, she disappeared forever.</p><p id="8562"><i>Author’s note: “Selkie” means “seal” in Scottish language and describes a mythological creature that is able to shapeshift between seal and human. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selkie">Legends</a> exist in various cultures, especially on the Northern Isles in Scotland as well as in Scandinavia. According to folklore, selkies can be female as well as male, friendly or revengeful, and tricked into marriage. This legend is one reason why Scottish people would refuse to kill seals — to avoid bad luck.</i></p><p id="7e35">Free verses prompted by the <a href="https://readmedium.com/pws-2023-poetry-writing-contest-762e92afa14c">Poetry Writing Contest 2023</a> by Promptly Written / Aquatic Creatures.</p><div id="6f82" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/@madmidori/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Join Medium with my referral link - Mad Midori</h2> <div><h3>As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*0vjsY9wN85uOYSdQ)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Poetry Writing Contest response

Iridescent skin, shimmering underwater, breaking sun rays in rainbows. Her tail flapping gently in the sea, the selkie was frolicking in her salty paradise.

Curiosity pulled her ashore, whispered stories of solid land, with erect walking creatures. At the oceans edge, she took off her seal skin, becoming a woman eager to roam.

Long hair the color of algae, the softest green, creating a halo around her heart shaped face. Her physique a masterpiece of gentle lines, shaped by the sea, her movements fluid.

A fisherman witnessed her transformation. In awe, starring at the most beautiful thing — desire, lust and possessiveness lit him up. Treacherously, he grabbed her skin and hid it.

The selkie stepped in front of him, cautiously. What a curious beast, she thought, mesmerized by his rugged appearance. I need my skin, she pleaded. To return to the sea, my folks, my true nature.

The fisherman refused, to lure her home. Become my wife, you will be happy here. Choiceless, shell-shocked, she followed him — promising herself to find a way back.

Years went by. The selkie tried to find her skin, and failed. Coming to terms with her fate, she was a wife in the fisherman’s shack. Feeling half content, half empty, always sad.

Every single day, she went to the shore. Cried salty tears of longing, right into the sea. Her wedded captor still refused her pleas, as much as she refused to give up hope.

One day at the beach, tears running in streams so heavy they send ripples over the water. A big fish appeared, gasping for air. I escaped your husband’s nets, but I heard.

The selkie rubbed her human eyes. Yes, the fish said, he told the skipper about your skin, hidden in the boats’ stomach. Blubbering these words, he dived under.

At night, the fisherman snored in his dreams, she was running to the harbor. The boat swayed softly in the moonlit sea — through the porthole, a faint glimmer.

The selkie’s beautiful seal skin. She rattled the door until the lock became loose, and pulled her sorely missed shell over her human form.

Becoming her true, aquatic self, she vowed never to set a foot on land again — or to approach any human. With a loud splash, she disappeared forever.

Author’s note: “Selkie” means “seal” in Scottish language and describes a mythological creature that is able to shapeshift between seal and human. Legends exist in various cultures, especially on the Northern Isles in Scotland as well as in Scandinavia. According to folklore, selkies can be female as well as male, friendly or revengeful, and tricked into marriage. This legend is one reason why Scottish people would refuse to kill seals — to avoid bad luck.

Free verses prompted by the Poetry Writing Contest 2023 by Promptly Written / Aquatic Creatures.