Come closer, sailor, let the moon lean low, I’ve been waiting where the black tides glow, Hair on the water like a ribbon of night, Eyes full of secrets, lips dressed in light. You heard my voice through the storm and foam, Soft as a promise that could lead you home, But home is a word that I learned how to bend, A pearl in my mouth with a hook at the end. I sing in a language your pulse understands, A slow little rhythm that loosens your hands, Let go of the wheel, let the cold wind decide, There’s nothing but heaven beneath this tide. Your crew keeps shouting, but I drown out their cries, I paint silver dreams on the backs of your eyes, You think I am lonely, you think I need saving, But every sweet note is a doorway I’m paving. You whisper, “Are you real?” I laugh like a wave, Real enough, darling, to open your grave, Real enough, darling, to soften your knees, To make you forget every warning at sea. I circle your vessel, I hum through the hull, I fill up your senses till reason goes dull, Your heartbeat keeps time with the pull of my song, And every step closer feels perfectly wrong. Dip one foot in, love, the water is warm, Ignore how the clouds twist into a storm, Ignore all the shadows that move under me, They’re only old lovers who chose to be free. I hold out my hand with my fingers like lace, Salt on my tongue and the dark on my face, You reach like a prayer, so eager, so sure, And I look like the answer because I’m the lure. Now jump, pretty sailor, the night has no shore, I’ll give you the peace you were aching for, Your body hits midnight, the surface breaks wide, I wrap both my arms like a bride in the tide. You gasp at the cold, but I kiss you so slow, Pulling you gently where dead lanterns glow, Your fear blooms late, like a rose in the deep, And I sing you a promise the ocean will keep. Don’t fight me now, you’re too far from the sky, That trembling question is sweet in your eye, You claw at my shoulders, I tighten my hold, My tail coils around you, all shimmer and cold. The bubbles escape like the prayers you forgot, Your lungs beg for mercy, but mercy is not A jewel that I carry, a gift that I give, I only sing softly while wanting you still. Lower, my love, where the ship bells are mute, Where bones wear the coral and silence bears fruit, Your heartbeat is fading, but mine starts to race, I watch the last moonlight abandon your face. (Hush now) don’t panic, I’m right by your side, (So deep) let go, let the black water guide, (That’s it) your struggle is losing its flame, (My sweet) even dying, you whisper my name. One final convulsion, one beautiful plea, (Down, down) you belong to the bottom with me, (Breathe in) though there’s nothing but salt in your chest, (Too late) now the ocean is sealing your rest. Your fingers go quiet, your wide eyes turn still, (Mmm, yes) and the dark finally bends to my will, I smooth back your hair as the currents move through, Then rise for the next one, still singing of you forevermore.
