Arcadian Verses

Art by Monica Medappa

Her passion strived,

In a world where once carps thrived.

Studying their ways, their grace,

Seeking to protect their sacred space.

With dedication, she fought the fight,

Against the townsfolk’s harmful plight.

But as the carps dwindled, one by one,

Her heart grew heavy, her hope undone.

Dejected, she sat in her lab’s embrace,

Feeling the weight of their lost grace.

But in her sorrow, a transformation began.

Her skin turned to scales,

Her eyes bulged, within the iris a darkened hole,

The pupil like a gateway to the soul.

A metamorphosis, a new world.

Donning a long overcoat, she took flight,

To the cliff’s edge, bathed in twilight.

With courage and purpose, she shed her disguise,

Arms exploded to radiating dorsal fins,

Limbs entwined, tail unfurling.

A fusion of human and aquatic kind.

Revealing her true form, to water’s cries,

Her scales glistened, reflecting the red skies.

She leaps.

A giant carp, majestic and free.

She submerged, embracing her destiny.