Skull Song

Genevieve Taggard

A sea-god, whose father had been a mortal, becomes a skeleton.

The skin of the sea was thick, to-night, And the tone of the sea was dull; When I found by the edge of the sullen sea The half of a sea-god’s skull.

Half of a sea-god’s skull was there, Half of a sea-god’s tail. When I dug them out of the clutch of the sand The peering moon went pale.

The peering moon went pale, because Her other eye had seen The other half of the sea-god’s bones Ten thousand fathom green . . .

Ten thousand fathom green with sea, The sea-god’s other bones Swayed in a dead sea-goddess’s arms On a pile of sea-washed stones.

The skin of the sea was thick, to-night, And the tone of the sea was dull, While I buried away from the sinister sea All the mortal part of a skull.