Son of Selkie
30April 29, 2016 by petrujviljoen
A young man, at the very end
of the rock slicing into the sea
standing, as if fixed, as if part
of the motion of the invitation
of the surf.
There’s no comfort here.
None at all.
Not then.
Eyes red from raking the
surface of the brine so deep
a strident wind tearing at
his hair; his shirt a-blowing
– a ship at sail.
at home – the encounter:
father frothing – you! You!
the usual turn of the head
was stayed; eyes focused,
levelled at the grey old man
The early night – rain-lashed
and bestormed – now quiet.
A stir on the surface of the
brine so deep, one, two,
then eleven, lumbered up.
Eleven of them danced
graceful as a seal
in its element.
The young man, at the very end
of the rock reaching into the sea
stood. Transfixed. Staring at the
clump of hair caught there.
By Users Richard Harvey, Guinnog on en.wikipedia – Taken and donated by user:Guinnog, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1089051
Background to the Sealskin/Soulskin woman can be found here.
Linked to Dverse, Open Link Night, hosted by Victoria S Slotto.
petrujviljoen 
This is so romantic and passionate. I enjoyed reading it.
The photo and poem go together perfectly!
Thank you!
As a lover of mermaids, but only a dabbler of selkies, I loved reading this, and its explanation. Thank you!
i remember reading about this particular story – you do a beautiful job of retelling it in poem form, from the perspective of the young man. lovely piece.
Thanks a stack.
There is a kind of energy that emerges when one is touched by the muse. I believed your subject has been taken by that magic… and that’s lovely.
High praise! Thank you very much!
I really like your poetic take on the story! Very effectively told. And thanks for the explanation as well.
In future I’ll link to the subject matter. I see other people do it, so to aid understanding. Thank you for reading and commenting, appreciated.
First time through, I felt sadness. But after I read your comment, telling the story behind your words (thank you for that), I reread it. I still felt a sadness, but I also thought there was some hope in it as well.
It’s a tale about becoming, so yes, hope there is indeed.
So she was kind of like a mermaid, sounds fascinating!
In so far as she came from the sea there may be a comparison, but it’s a different tale. Thanks for reading and commenting, it’s appreciated.
Oh I do like the myth of selkies.. not quite the same as mermaids but so much similar… the impossible attraction … love your take here.
Thank you!
I’ve heard of those Selkie from Irish mythology I believe. Your last line that mentions the clump of hair left me wondering if a death had occurred…
No, thankfully not. I wrote hoping people would know the story to it. The seal woman, once on land had her skin stolen by the boy in the poem’s father. The boy gave it back to her once he inadvertently found it and she went back to sea (her own element). Thus him staring over the water in case he might see her. After him for once standing up to his father, i.e. not shy or ashamed that he was the cause of the seal woman leaving, she came to visit their island again. It’s a wide spread folktale. A favourite of mine: the ‘moral’ is to leave a dry (spiritual or creative) place and go back to who one really is. The boy’s ‘coming of age’ being his own man, brought her. It’s her seal hair he saw.
I added a link to explain the back story. Should’ve done it in the first place.
Now I can see what you are saying in your poem more clearly. I wasn’t familiar with the folk tale so couldn’t really “connect the dots” so to speak. It’s a wonderful story and I can appreciate why it’s a popular one.
It’s not a very familiar tale, apologies for not adding a link to the subject matter.
“at home – the encounter:
father frothing – you! You!
the usual turn of the head
was stayed; eyes focused,
levelled at the grey old man”
These are all powerful images. I feel the melancholy, as well as the stiffened resolve. Excellent poem.
Thank you! I was afraid it may not be clear to readers.
These images stir up such a sad emotional response. I’m not familiar with the story that drove it, but the feelings seep through.
Thanks. The story is basically about a return to creativity, or oneself, despite obstacles.
Wow! Awesome!
Thanks Carol.
You’re welcome!
Wow–deep! I’m curious.
It’s a folklore Nan. The first version I read was from Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Estes Pikola. Wikipedia has a nice article about it if you’d like to read up.