Song of Shipwrecks

Angelic notes from a hellion, trapped not by choice, but because my voice and what it was born into; it chooses to call to the waves of the sea. I want to lure you to me. You handsome pirates of the ocean, or maybe you rich men of the cruise ships that choose buffet style. I want to sink my talons into you and brush my feathers over your silky skin and turn you into bones that make up our island.

At least, that is what I was taught. To be honest, what use are wings and feathers if not to fly?

Taught to sing since I was small, the beauty of the notes of treble, and then the low rumble of bass, carry on the waves to reach the tenor of your ears. My song calls to all who brave the waters of the sea. The song of shipwrecks, because nothing good comes to those who listen and follow. The sweet melody of my song is like a caress to men.

Although, I wish it otherwise, because all who listen fall to the game of seduction, but with our kind that just ends in death. I never even get to finish singing. They all just die. How can anyone come to love me for me without fully listening?

I want different.

It sure lured my favorite one in, the only one. The one I fell in love with and watched listen, tied to that damn pole, as I poured my soul into my song. His crew made it through by blocking out my song, covering their ears with a substance I know nothing about. I remember that day well. It was the day I chose me.

“You know we always are to stay cliffside,” my mother told me. Watch for the ships and call to them in the sing-song voice that I was born with. It is my sole purpose. Contribute to the island...

Those damn mermaids get to swim. I have wings, but have yet to fly off this God-forsaken island.

“Mom, you just don’t get it. I wish for real love, not just infatuation from song,” I said, curling my talons, making a fist and making my skin bleed. The blood droplets dropped onto the rocks on which we stood. Thinking to myself, why is it so hard for anyone to just let me finish my song?

“No one has ever left or taken the leap. Everyone we want comes to us, and we build our island from their bones. We are what we are! You do not ask questions! You stand at the cliffs and you sing!” she screeched at me. The anger emanated from her. She did not like that I wanted different than what I was born into.

So I stood at the place where my blood had poured and faced the setting sun and waited. Once it set and the fog rolled in, I began to sing the song to lure in ships to wreck and come to recognize this was all I would ever be unless I jumped and hoped my wings would take flight.

That was when your ship came into view and everything for me would change. Everything was quiet except for my voice, which was an oddity. Normally everyone was in a panic. Hearing singing at night on the fog of the ocean is never a good sign. Normally crews knew that they were going to crash at this point, getting this close to the island with the rocks and bones.

When I saw you tied to that pole, I realized you were waiting for me. Waiting to hear me fully. Waiting to listen. You did it out of necessity to protect yourself, and your crew blocked out my song completely so you were able to stop and listen.

I finished my song and called out to you, “Who are you?” hoping you would answer, but with your head you beckoned me over. I ruffled my wings and looked down at the waves crashing against the rocks and bones, thinking to myself:

Can I do it? Can I fly?

We made eye contact again and your ship started to move again. I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What man would ever tie himself up to fully listen to a creature like me? I knew then I knew love and had to take the leap to meet you.

So I did. I threw myself off the cliff that I always stood on and hoped my wings would carry me to you. I fell, tumbling down toward the rocks and water, but finally the draft caught my wings and lifted me skyward.

The adrenaline of flight was like nothing I ever felt before! Why stay stagnant when you can fly and have freedom? I thought.

I landed by you and ruffled my wings, stretched them fully, and put my talons behind my back to show you I am no threat.

“Untie me,” you said.

In one swipe, the ropes dropped to the ground. I was so glad to see them drop and you unafraid to be around me.

“Siren, your song is beautiful. The most beautiful sound I have ever heard. I had my crew tie me to this pole so I could hear your song fully and still live to tell the story of its beauty. Why use it to seduce and let others die?”

I spoke quietly so as not to scare him. “It is what I was born to be, but not what I wished to stay. So I took the leap to be different. To fly. To be myself and to love whom I choose.”

This is what I said. I waited for his response. Instead, he stepped forward, lifted his hand, and stroked the feathers of my right wing. He then placed his hand against my face and looked me in the eyes.

“Sometimes it’s time to change your tune, or get a tune-up and choose your own path in life.”

He then planted a kiss on my lips, and no sound came out, but it was a thank you from him that he got to hear my song. I chose to kiss him back because I sang fully and took the leap that changed my life.

That kiss changed everything. I took flight. I chose good.

I am now that siren you will hear at night on that cruise or boat that causes you to question if you really heard what you did on the waters, making you realize there is music around us that keeps the myths and dreams alive within us. But it is our choices that move the boat forward.

I am the siren with song and finally got someone to fully listen to my song. I found love and chose to fly and change. I will never again become the song of shipwrecks nor cause them.