Maidens of the sea

Days are long
though the nights are longer
the gap is wide
sea distances the memories
and debris floats to shore
and all the while
the sand dances
along the shoreline
to a sea shanty
as old as an old Captain’s beard—
an old maiden’s hemline
beneath the sea
where memories go to lay rest
and ghosts of past sailors
live on
and mermaids bathe
and bask—
on buoys
and rocks
and fallen tree limbs
princesses of the sea
with heavy hearts
and hopes that won't ever come true
and odes dedicated to the sea
awaiting sailors
that will never return