La vie sous la mer

I. He

My love
was not born of the land.
My love
comes from deep in the ocean,
far down.

To the sea
we came
to lay down.
To the sea—
To the sea—
To the sea—


II. She

My pain, my loss,
my fear, my dreams—
longing, crying—
They are meaningless to the man inside.

How cruel is this to have found love with him?
How cruel is this to have bore him six children and now
be thinking of the depths?

If there is any chance,
it will be coming in on tomorrow's tide—


III. He

My love,
whom I found on the shore—
crying
at the edge of the ocean
so bitterly.

But the sea,
it called
her back home again
To the sea—
To the sea—
To the sea—


IV. The Note She Left Behind

Farewell, surface man—
know I loved you and
forgave you at last
(leaving out the past).

Here I have grown old.
(Not true, down below.)
Now I feel the call,
now I have to go.

And though you never . . . asked,
I loved my first husband much more.

My first husband came,
bringing me a way.
Giving me the sea:
a new skin for me.

Children, come to me:
find me in the sea.
Find me in the sea—
Find me in the sea—


V. He

Children,
yes, your mother is gone.
Last night
She went over the cliffs
north of town.

To the sea—
well you know how she would sit and watch . . .
To the sea—
To the sea—
To the sea—

And there's one more thing you should think about:
I say we stay away from the shore.
Stay away from all the troubles
that we've seen
when the ocean is on your mind—

For so many years,
how I loved her dear . . .
I never knew—