When the woman fell through
the crack in the city sidewalk
she fell many fathoms
towards a radiant abyss
There were so many women
down in the crystal caves
they had been falling through
the cracks for so long
The women made a city near
the vents where the blue light
of bioluminescent animals
lit up the long nights
They walked quietly in the sparkling
salt pillar forests, gathering
in the flowing flora, collecting
honey from the honeyfish’s mouth
After they had been there a while
a few wished to swim in the subterranean
sea; and so they grew gills and tales
with prismic, adamantine scales
Soon women fell like rain through
the cracks in the city sidewalks
which are said to cover over
nearly two percent of the Earth
But nobody missed them.
Whenever a man went missing
through the cracks, the other
men would search the manholes
They did not see the radiant city
nor do they hear the mermaids
singing softly to the fallen, turning them
gently into pillars of salt
with their lullabies
