"In the Waters Dark and Deep" by E.A.S. Demers, Third Place, 2017

In the Waters Dark and Deep

by E.A.S. Demers

Third Place, 2017

In the waters dark and deep,
where none of sunlight dare to go,
there in the cold and brackish depths,
lie the souls of those you once did know.

As black as death, as white as ice,
with teeth as sharp as bone-strrength,
the fetid, foul, monstrous steed,
makes its hollow far beneath.

Take heed along the water,
trust not the feeble mare,
her wrtched, dripping man,
a sign you must take care.

Though her trembling begs your pity,
her act beguiling is but a ruse,
no tender heart throbs within her frame,
as life's fragile frame she seeks to undo.

Touch  not the creature stood before you
lest your timid grasp, held-fast,
no earnest plea will save you
as her watery web is cast.

Far below, where cries fall silent,
and those who'd help, know not your plight,
the Kelpie claims your ghost to sate her hunger,
your flash and bone, seized in savage rite.