THE GREEN-MERMAID INN

Within a glass tank
A beautiful green maiden,
Breathing in water?

A rural inn houses
What seems to be a mermaid,
Put there on display.

People stop and stare
Wondering if the mermaid,
Could be truly real?

People can vanish
Sometimes in a twinkling
Does the mermaid feed?

Ignoring warnings
Sometimes people get too close,
Then they may vanish.

Ignoring the danger
Some fools lift the lid to stare,
At the horror there.

Outside of water
Her true form is revealed,
Too horrid to consider.

All lethal sharp spines
Teeth as long as carving knives,
The Mermaid's true form.

Snake-like yellow eyes
Lidless and slitted, glaring
Like Satan himself.

Legs green and scaly
No green beauty now in sight,
Only ugliness.

Glaring over the top
At those it means to kill,
Snarling as it leaps.

Leaping from the tank
The creature starts a panic,
Gawpers turn to run.

Rapidly it catches
The fleeing panicked crowd,
Killing everyone.

Then out it goes
Heading toward the sea,
To lure unwary sailors.

THE END
© Copyright 2021 Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia