Otohime’s grace

By the dawn-lit shore he cast his net,

A humble fisherman of humble mind.

A stranded turtle, its shell beset,

He set it free, compassion kind.

“Follow me,” the gentle creature cried,

“Where coral arches gleam.”

Deep below the rolling tide,

Crystal halls and pearls abide.

Music drifts on currents pale—

I dance beyond the ocean’s veil.

Otohime’s grace in gardens grand,

Gifts of jade and lotus bloom.

Days slipped by like grains of sand,

No sorrow lived within that room.

But time above flowed swift and free,

While I reveled in the deep.

Deep below the rolling tide,

Crystal halls and pearls abide.

Music drifts on currents pale—

I dance beyond the ocean’s veil.

A box of secrets, bound in gold,

“Open not”—her soft refrain.

Curiosity could not be told,

I sighed too late and broke the chain.

Back on shore I found the land

Gone to dust in silent fields.

A single tear to touch the sand—

The sea holds all that time conceals.

Deep below the rolling tide,

Only memories now reside.

Music drifts on currents pale—

I live beyond the ocean’s veil.