The Little Mermaid Contemplates the Knife by Allison Armstrong

The gush of my heart
is a love song
tireless
echoing
in the shell of my own ear
            the cavity of my chest

Quiet trickle of a background hum or
full throated
so powerful she takes out a dam
Riverflood
She never stops singing

She says
Forgive yourself
for the times you
             couldn’t hear me
             thought love was a zero-sum game and
             abandoned yourself

You’re here now
You’re listening
Follow the music
             You know how to open
                                           your heart

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Allison Armstrong is a queer leather femme, a kitchen witch, and a Professional Naked Girl, living on an ancient seabed, and unceded Algonquin territory, in Ottawa where she writes poetry, reads tarot, and makes things with her hands. She has work published, or forthcoming, in Moonchild Magazine, Coven Editions, Cauldron Anthology, L’Éphémère Review, and Hustling Verse, among others. Follow her adventures on twitter @amazon_syren.