For Melinda

The sea sings, we know it.

Why else would crowds flock to shores,
Baskets in hand, sand in their shoes,
Sand in their wishes.

The descant in the throats of seagulls,
The rolling percussion as the waves 
—  tap crash — on the shore.

We all hear it. 

But there is another heart beat
In the melody that surges
Through the water.

An other song, a twilight song, 
One of sea and sun, 
Of salt and dreams.

Beneath slow waves,
They sing and sigh,
A choir clothed in gray.

Breaching, bursting,
They rise
In great exhalation.

They salute you,
And I,
Witches on the shore,

They call to us — 
We who know so little, 
But more, perhaps, than most. 

We know enough to listen,
To follow their tune,
To sing with them. 

[Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers. Together, they founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, teaching creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales. Their fiction and poetry can be found in Enchanted Living, Uncanny Magazine, Apex Magazine, Fairy Tale Review, Star*Line, and others.]