It's July. It's Maine. The sun is shining and I can't wait to get to the ocean. "The Mermaid" is part of my collection of Maine poems celebrating a Maine summer.
Skate egg cases are known as mermaids’ purses. Horns and tendrils on each of the corners anchor the case to seaweed. Each case contains one egg, and skates lay multiple pairs throughout the breeding season.
In six to twelve months, the young skate slits the side of the case and slips out. Two skates common to the Gulf of Maine are smooth skate, Malacoraja senta, and thorny skate Amblyraja radiate.
The Mermaid
tosses her empty purse
on the sandbar and flips away.
She glides with skates to
egg them on in case
they let slip more
leather pouches
with tassels and tendrils-
cast off without notice.
